To Retire, Or Not To Retire?

January 22, 2021

For some of us, the coronavirus pandemic has complicated the question. As Yahoo! Finance reports, a Harris Poll study conducted this past summer found that 25% of Gen Xers and 14% of baby boomers think they will retire later than they planned, because of the pandemic's financial impact on their lives.   

Will this perception be fleeting? Forty-nine percent of respondents cited the current state of the economy as the biggest obstacle to realizing their retirement goals, but the economy frequently changes course. Long-term retirement strategies consider potential short-term economic ups and downs. 

If you are a retirement-minded baby boomer or Gen Xer, you might want to think about three factors. One, how did your investments perform in 2020. Two, the degree to which the pandemic is impacting your job security. If you feel you might be let go as a result of the pandemic's economic stress on your employer, then it may be time to begin creating a retirement transition strategy. Three, the timing of retiring in 2021. If spending the first year of your retirement in a global pandemic has you down, consider waiting until 2022 or later to wrap up your career could be a better choice.¹