Will you fail at retirement – or even at a planned phased approach to retirement?

Whether it’s the Standish Group or Gartner, these research organizations estimate that well over 50% of corporate information technology projects fail to meet their objectives.

A 2017 Harvard Business Review article estimated that over 50% of executive-level hires fail in their new roles in less than 18 months.

While statistics on the number of people who “un-retire” vary widely, there has been a noticeable trend in recent years of retirees returning to full-time or part-time work.  Some return for financial reasons.  Others are simply bored or looking for social connections or a way to keep their mind engaged.

According to a 2020 survey by the Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies, 56% of American workers plan to continue working in some capacity after they retire. [This figure includes those who may choose to work part-time or pursue self-employment rather than returning to traditional full-time employment.]

So, as much as we plan and prepare our approaching retirement – nearly 6 in 10 of us will be back working for our own personal reasons.

My simple message today is to include this possibility in your retirement planning.  Don’t think of walking away and never looking back at your career or employment possibilities.  Situations change; people change.  It’s not a forever decision – and if you decide to return to work you certainly won’t be alone.

Phased retirement might not always be a stairstep down from full-time, to part-time to zero.  It might be stepping away entirely for a few years to decompress and reassess.  To get a new perspective and look for potential opportunities to use your talents in new and rewarding ways.

Hardly a failure in my book!