How Do You Decide to Keep Working or Retire?

[AARPLynne]

From first job memories to planning for retirement, how has work changed for you? We asked real people to reflect on their careers and tell us tell us their thoughts on what makes them keep working at 50-plus and on when is the right time to retire. The video isn’t solely about the financial side of retirement, but also about the social and emotional reasons to keep working or stop working.

Have you decided to keep working or retire? 

[WebWiseWoman]

Not sure about your video; here is my history...

70s and 80s, worked 40+ hours office jobs then company bankruptcy; lost savings and retirement; no 401 or government guarantees then; who would have thought that possible?

Late 80s part time while raising youngest children then lost yet another retirement to another bankfuptcy! Would I invest in a company again?

After 20 years of  additional work, after co-workers 401 from Caesars was lost to Harrah's (kmart of casinos) and my investment returned 5 cents on the dollar) I rely on social security. I have no income due to these people who earned off from our work.

Thanks, little man Love; you could actually be the next #dotard; give it a try...

[MartinBooker]

@WebWiseWoman, thank you for your compelling and moving post. Really struck me and I took the opportunity to have one of my colleagues look into this a little further. Here’s what he shared with me. Perhaps this is something you’ve already considered—I wanted to share what I learned for your benefit and others. Hope you find this to be helpful.

ERISA (Employee Retirement Income Security Act) was passed in 1974 which provided protection for employees with employer retirement plans to ensure that employees won’t lose their money when companies going bankrupt. It’s a good idea to find out who the custodian financial institution was for the missing accounts to see if there is still money being held. When accounts are considered “lost accounts”, the money is moved into a Rollover IRA and charged $25 per year until the funds are exhausted. If this was a defined benefits plan, start with the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) to look for money from companies that went bankrupt. For retirement accounts that are not defined benefits plans, will not be found on the PBGC site. More information about how to find those other types of accounts can be found here https://www.fool.com/knowledge-center/how-to-find-previous-401k-accounts.aspx

[retiredtraveler]

  I don't see any value in that video whatsoever. The only way you (initially) decide to retire is by projecting your income and expenses. You need to track your expenses, penny for penny, for several years and project from there amortizing expenses such as home maintenance (the $8000 re-roof you'll need), car repairs or new purchase, medical expenses that only occur on occasion. There is some work, and a lot of thought into tracking and projecting expenses and income.

   Once you think you have an idea of how much 'take home' you'll have in retirement you have to decide if that is enough to fully retire or not. You then can decide if you want to work, because you enjoy it, or you have to keep earning a paycheck.

   I disagree with the 'don't work too hard' thing. Yes, I agree that there is no loyalty from employers and they'll 'forget about you in a week'. But putting in extra time and effort, in many situations, can pay off in promotions, recognition, referrals for your next job that can pay off on your resume and interview. Everyone in my immediate family always put in more than 8 hours a day and it did pay off in the long run.  It depends if you're just 'showing up' for a job or trying to make a career that you will allow you to advance.