Will You Need to Work Part-Time After You Retire?
20 per cent of future retirees expect part-time work to be a major income source
in retirement -- twice the 10% who had the same expectation in April 2001,
according to a recent Gallup poll.
Reasons why future retirees may need to work
after retirement
"Numerous economic trends indicating that they may not be able to retire and
live comfortably without working," are perhaps the most likely reason, says
Dennis Jacobe, Ph.D., Chief Economist for Gallup
Waiting too long to accurately project what retirement income and expenses
will be during retirement often brings surprises for future federal
retirees.
Rising health care costs, inflation, and the trend of
living longer during retirement (thus outliving supplement savings like the
TSP) are other issues that many federal employees stated in the recent My
Federal Retirement Reader Survey.
Outside of financial concerns, many of the soon-to-be-retired are considering
part-time work because they are in better health than retirees in the past, and
may want to stay active or do something they enjoy while providing additional
funds to their retirement nest egg.
What should you consider?
Caution for returning to work in the federal sector
While a House bill was introduced September 2007 to change this, under
current law, if retired federal employees return to work as part-timers, they
either must suspend receiving their annuities or receive a salary reduced by the
amount they would have received from the annuity. According to public
records, this bill has not yet moved from the introductory stage. The
Office of Personnel Management has provided some exceptions to this. Do
your research. You also may consider becoming an outsourced or "contract"
employee for federal agencies.
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