The pandemic and its interminable lockdowns and stay at home advice has changed our lives for good and bad. Whether we consider schooling, social care, shopping, entertainment, or the world of work, it is hard to see that we would ever return to the way things were pre-covid.
On a positive note, take working from home. A recent, over 50’s, survey by the Office for National Statistics highlighted that the recent rise in, and switch to home working had not only improved the health of the over 50s but also job satisfaction and our overall work-life balance.
So much so that many of us are delaying or at least modifying our retirement plans. When I consider the amount, the average commute was taking out of my life it is not surprising that people working from home are feeling much happier, more balanced, and certainly less stressed. Many have found by not travelling, buying lunch and the odd ‘on the go’ coffee that their finances are also feeling a whole lot healthier, allowing them to put more money away for when they do retire. Rightly or wrongly I recently calculated that I was spending up to £100 per week on lunch and coffees not to mention the additional cost of my 1.5-hour commute into London.
For those of us who are reconsidering the whole retirement malarky it’s worth noting that working a few extra years and contributing the same or even a little more to your pension pot can work wonders for the money you will have available when you finally do hang up your boots. It needn’t even be for the same organisation or even full-time. It could be something that you have an interest or passion in or even giving back to society by working in a caring, educational, pastoral, or environmental sector, to name but a few. Quite frankly the world remains your oyster.
And you are not alone The Financial Conduct Authority have reported that in the six months after we were first impacted by Covid-19 nearly 9% of people over 50 had delayed their retirement.
Employers are also beginning, albeit slowly to wake up to the value of the over 50s and all the experience and life skills they bring and are becoming more flexible in their employment approach.
So, maybe it’s time for you to be bold and consider a more flexible approach to working and retirement. If you aren’t enamoured with your current job why not consider a change to something far more interesting, go on be bold.