Green Retirement

You may have seen this headline over the past few days, in your local newspaper or on the web, “Early Retirements Draining Social Security”.  It’s a stupid headline that makes no logical sense.  How can you be retiring early if you are eligible Social Security?  Apparently, millions of Americans who have been laid-off and are eligible for Social Security, have given up looking for a job and are applying to the SSA to begin claiming their benefits.  Good for them,  so should you, and here’s why.

We are in a recession with high unemployment.  Seven million Americans have lost their jobs over the past two years and all indications are that millions more will lose their jobs before this recession ends.  And then what? How many years will it take, to re-employ all the Americans who have lost their jobs,  what type of jobs will be available, and at what salaries?  And when the economy begins to recover, and companies start hiring again, who are they going to hire?  A 63 year old or a 36 year old?

If you are eligible for Social Security, and you have been laid-off, you have two choices.  You can continue burning through your retirement savings looking for a job, or you can adjust your retirement plans, take Social Security and retire.  Option 1 - Burn through your retirement savings looking for a job is stressful and financially unwise.  Option 2 - Adjust your retirement plans and take Social Security is simple, liberating, and financially smart.

Some of you, like a recent 57 year old client who had been laid-off, may be able to retire without making any adjustments to your retirement plans.  After being laid-off, he spent a year looking for a job, before trying Green Retirement.  What he discovered was, that the combination of his net worth and pension, was sufficient for him to retire immediately.  He had wasted a year looking for a job, getting all stressed out, when he could have been enjoying his retirement.

His financial planner used the traditional retirement planning formula to calculate his retirement savings needs.  Based on his salary, the financial planner calculated that he would need $3.5 million to retire, and he had no where near that amount.  Green Retirement calculated, based on his net worth and pension, that he needed $800,000 to retire.  He had more than that amount.  If he had not tried Green Retirement, he would still be looking for a job, when he could otherwise be retired.

You can quickly discover, if your net worth and social security benefits are sufficient for you to retire today, by trying the Free Retirement Calculator on the Green Retirement website. And, here are links to Green Retirement articles, that explain why it makes sense to retire in a recession.

Retire Now
Retire in a Recession
Layoff Retirement
Free Retirement Calculators

If you are eligible for Social Security or pensions, and you have been laid off, do yourself a favor and retire today.  Why waste your time and money looking for a job in a recession when you could be enjoying retirement?