In early 2014, financial services provider TIA-CREF conducted a survey which showed that 37% of Americans planned to retire before the age of 65.
Have you ever considered retiring early?
Fantastic… You might think.
You can now have endless lie-ins, be able to fill your days visiting friends and family and have the time to enjoy your favourite hobby but is early retirement really what it’s cracked up to be?
We’ve listed five things you need to be aware of when it comes to having an early retirement;
- Early Retirement Can Be Bad for your Health
In 2008 the National Bureau of Economic Research found a link to early retirement and a decline in mental health, mobility and an increase in heart disease and stroke.
Don’t be disheartened though, as the report also concluded that retirees who had continued to be physically active and sociable were less likely to suffer this negative effect.
- Boredom
It may sound silly, but retirees have a difficult time adjusting from the daily routine of a full-time job to the unstructured life of retirement.
Retirees have been known to miss the variety which comes with having a job. Every day is different. After all, there’s only so many times you can do something until the same routine can become a bit stale.
Others have spoken about how they miss socialising with their colleagues, clients and/or customers.
- No Financial Security
It may be rather obvious to point out but now you’re no longer receiving your salary and at a relatively young age. Unfortunately, the earlier you retire the longer you’ll have to stretch out your savings to cover your retirement years.
“One common myth is that your expenses decline in retirement. We seldom find that to be the case for three primary reasons. First, you simply have more time on your hands to enjoy, partake and spend. Second, as individuals grow older, they tend to outsource more, layering on new expenses. Third, your healthcare expenses logically tend to increase as you age. It’s more important to make sure your assets can sustain potential, and perhaps inevitable, growth in spending over your lifetime.”
Jennifer E. Myers CFP®, president of SageVest Wealth Management, McLean, Va.
- Health Insurance
As an early retiree, you may not have any health care insurance as Medicare doesn’t start until you’re age 65. Unless your ex-employer provides it, you’ll have to pay for it on your own until you’re eligible for Medicare.
For those with a health savings account in place, this may not be much of an issue. For some, however, the costs of healthcare may be enough to consider staying in the working world on at least a part-time basis so the costs can be offset and not eat into the investments being used to pay for the early retirement.
- Social Security Benefits
When you retire early and don’t have adequate savings in place for support, then the natural conclusion for Americans is to draw upon their Social Security benefits. For those who retire at age 62 and begin taking benefits, the monthly benefit will be 30% smaller or more compared to if benefits were taken at age 67.
For those who can wait until age 70 to start taking the benefit, the amount may increase by up to 8%.
If you’re given the choice to retire early, then these are all aspects that you need to consider.
However, what happens when you don’t have the choice?
Nearly all paramedics and emergency service workers never make it to retirement age and have no choice but to retire early.
American Community Survey (ACS) measured every occupation over five years to see who were still in the labor force. While some Americans stay in their profession well past the average retirement age of 67 years old, paramedics, for example, have less than 1% of their workforce is 66 years old or older.
So why do paramedics and emergency service workers retire early? Is it that they’re overpaid so they can have the choice too?
Sadly, this isn’t the case. Many paramedics need to take early retirement due to work-related injuries.
Please see our article ‘Outdated Manual Handling Practices Causes Rise In Injuries In Paramedics’ for more information regarding work-related injuries.
It’s vital that the choice of early retirement stays with the paramedic themselves and not be made by the fact they’ve incurred an injury which means they must do so.
By using the correct equipment, you are able to provide a practical solution to preventing certain manual handling injuries from happening to emergency service workers.
The Mangar Camel emergency lifting cushion can help solve the problem of paramedics getting hurt whilst manually lifting someone off the floor. The Camel can lift between 700 lb and is lightweight, portable, simple to use and takes away the need to manually lift someone off the ground.
Chris Lokits, a quality assurance officer at the Louisville Metro EMS explained how the Mangar Lifting Cushion has been a ‘blessing’.
“When doing a lift assist by myself I am confident that I can successfully get the patient up without hurting them or myself,” he explained.
“With a decrease in IODs and workman’s compensation claims, I believe this device will soon pay for itself. It’s invaluable. “
If you’re interested in finding out further information regarding the Mangar Camel or would like to request a free product demonstration, please click here.
