Unplanned Retirement
Unplanned
Whatever age you plan to retire, consider this: some of us retire sooner than we intended. The nonprofit Employee Benefit Research Institute conducts yearly surveys on retirement issues and has consistently found that a large percentage of retirees leave the work force earlier than planned (45% in 2011). Many retirees who retired earlier than planned do so because of health problems or disability, or changes where they work, such as downsizing or closure.1
So, when planning for your retirement, take a look at how an earlier than expected retirement date would affect your financial picture and do some contingency planning.
1 Ruth Helman, Mathew Greenwald & Associates, and Craig Copeland and Jack VanDerhei, Employee Benefit Research Institute, 2011 Retirement Confidence Survey. Issue Brief no. 355. Employee Benefit Research Institute. March 2011.