Late-Career Women and Burn-Out or When Can I Retire?
Does this sound like you?
– 50-60 ish,
– have been working for 30-40 years,
– salaried employee,
– your boss is a pain,
– co-workers are all 20-30 years younger than you,
– some days are better than others,
– someone asks: when do you want to retire? and you say “tomorrow.”
If you answered yes, you aren’t alone. One of the most common reasons mid-life women seek financial help is to figure out if they can quit their jobs.
And, if you don’t have a clue whether this is possible or not, unless you dig in, look at the numbers, and project into the future, you won’t get the clarity you need to make such a big life-changing decision.
So, where do you start?
Things You Need To Know
– How much do you have saved?
– Are you getting the return you need on your investments?
– How much do you spend?
– When you retire and start withdrawing from your savings, what will your withdrawal rate be? Is it sustainable?
– Will your spending habits change once you quit your job?
– If you continue to work, what do you project your income to be?
– What do you want to do differently in this next phase of life? How much will it cost?
– What are your assumptions for inflation rates in the future?
– How much will health insurance cost if you are retiring before reaching Medicare eligibility?
– Will you be able to afford healthcare costs not covered by insurance in your older years (long term care)?
The decision to semi-retire or retire is a big one not to be taken lightly. You can assess the viability of reaching your goal by taking a hard look at the facts and numbers and doing some analysis.
Best, Worst and Most Likely Outcomes
Best case outcome: You find out that you can retire or semi-retire when you want to. Worst case outcome: You have to work until you can’t any longer. Most likely case: You find out that you need to work and save for a few more years before reaching your goal.
And surprisingly, once you have clarity and a solid goal, you might find that work and your boss aren’t so bad after all.
More and more people are rethinking success at midlife or retirement, and considering a shift to more meaningful, purpose-driven work. Combining a desire for social contribution, entrepreneurial passion, a job that’s not-just-a-job, and – often – continued income, encore careers are an appealing fresh start. Whatever your encore career goals, these strategies can increase the odds you’ll reach them.
If you want to think differently about the relationship between your spending, your values and your happiness, then 
They were in their late 30’s with three small children. He was friendly and open, she was quiet and not terribly happy to be there. He’d orchestrated our meeting after finding my website and liking it so much he called me.