Remote Work and Retirement
The Covid-19 global pandemic has had long-lasting and life-changing effects on the entire world, and here in the United States it has had many repercussions for folks looking towards their future with a sense of uncertainty. The economic impact is possibly still yet to be fully realized — many businesses closed, and those lucky enough to still find themselves with a job moved to a new model of working from home, wherever possible.
About 75 percent of federal government employees were still working remotely in September, according to a survey conducted by the Government Business Council. Before 2020, just 17 percent of U.S. employees were working from home permanently (meaning they were doing their job for at least 5 days every week.) By the time the pandemic was in full swing, that amount had increased to 44 percent.
Many Americans who embraced working from home when the Coronavirus pandemic burst onto the scene are now pushing back their retirement plans. It appears that one in ten people over 50, who had moved from office life to working remotely, felt that they were well placed to work for longer.
Delaying retirement seems sensible to them since they are able to work more flexibly and spend less time away from loved ones and the safety of their own homes. That is double the amount of people still working from an office environment that feel like they will delay retirement.
Studies show that working remotely has also affected government workers. The Office of Personnel Management by Federal News Network reported that fewer federal employees retired in 2020 compared with the two previous years. In fact, it was the fewest federal employees to retire since 2010.
“Delaying your retirement could be a good idea if you can keep working from home,” says Richard Eden, Senior Vice President of David Lerner Associates. “Remote work helps you save because you don’t have a commute or any of the added costs associated with it. It gives you more time to get your investment portfolio in good shape and helps you wait until your full retirement age before you start to receive Social Security which gives you a higher monthly yield from your benefits.”
Being able to be in your own space and perhaps take a break gives you more time to focus on what is important in life. Taking a walk in the park or preparing your own lunch in your own kitchen, rather than hustling outside of an office block to grab a bite to eat at a nearby cafe creates an easier way of living. Work balance is more and more important to people these days.
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