Six Financial Actions to Take the Year Before Retirement

Excerpt from Kiplinger.com, 02/16/2024: “Meet Steve. He is a partner with a big law firm in Washington, D.C. He is facing a mandatory retirement in just under a year, at age 65. Unlike so many of his partners, he doesn’t plan to lobby to stay on as a partner or counsel. He is ready for what’s next.

/Steve was divorced over a decade ago, and his two kids are grown and financially independent (for now). In this article, I am going to detail what I think are six critical, and often overlooked, financial moves Steve should make before he retires.

1. Come up with a health care plan.

2. Simplify your financial life.

3. Figure out how much you spend. ...”

Our take: The article has an image that depicts an "Action List," which serves as a great metaphor for the article, as it provides six concrete steps with good details about each step. Interestingly, the article's steps are quite granular and in plain language, with real-world examples. Using "Steve" as the object of the planning process did deliver a greater grasp of the steps to us, and we view ourselves in Steve's position, leading us to personalize the article to our own interests. This is a practical read that should be valuable to most adults transitioning to new frontiers. We'd also suggest younger adults would have a huge head start if they too took the time to read and grasp the author's very literal style of thinking. Enjoy the full article here.

Redesigning Retirement - It’s Time for a New Deal Between Employers and Older Workers

Excerpt from HBR, Harvard Business Review Magazine, March-April 2024: Today’s workforce and workplace are in unprecedented flux. Organizations have serious talent gaps to fill, for all sorts of reasons: high employee turnover, low employee engagement, the dramatic shift to remote and hybrid work, the continuing Baby Boomer retirement wave, rapid advances in technology. Many of the most critical positions require sophisticated skills, experience, and social acumen. Those needs can’t all be met simply by hiring and training inexperienced workers or leveraging AI.

Our take: HBR's article is insightful on quite a few fronts and really considers the gaps that exist on all sides of the voids evolving from seasoned skilled workers leaving the workforce and opting to work less or not at all.

Every day in the U.S., 10,000 Americans reach the traditional retirement age of 65, and whereas "retirement" is an antiquated concept for many—especially those on their own who need or expect ongoing income. Others are financially sound without traditional employment income but want to 'work' their mind, contribute to a team, serve a customer, et al. In most of these scenarios, however, the workforce norms are working against the 65+ worker. Quite often, older workers have progressed financially over their careers, and they've become relatively expensive for an employer battling to grow their toppling sales and control their costs with staff costs being a large cost center. The depth of experience of a 65+ is not always on display, either, often due to the role the worker possessed not being flexible enough for the seasoned employee to leverage it in the marketplace to the benefit of the employer. This is especially true when managers with limited experience oversee staff members with greater years of experience—note, this is not a critique of younger management staff, just a recognition they have not had the depth of experience in their career 'rearview mirror'.

In summary, HBR says it best... "We need to overcome lingering ageist stereotypes and start thinking of older and retired workers as a large, versatile, and valuable labor pool—one that’s significantly underutilized." Read and listen to the full article.