Retired by the pandemic? Part-time work could fill the gap

Before the pandemic, at least one retirement trend was headed in the right direction: more workers were staying on the job longer - and that was good news for retirement security.

But COVID-19 has stopped that trend in its tracks. Early retirement is accelerating as jobless older workers give up on the labor market due tothe unique health barriers posed by the coronavirus.

What can you do if you find yourself in this situation? This week on the podcast, I talk with Kerry Hannon. Kerry is an expert on career transitions, entrepreneurship and retirement. And she has a new book that couldn’t be more timely - Great Pajama Jobs: Your Complete Guide to Working from Home.

I invited Kerry on the program to talk about how part-time work can help fill income gaps in the event of early retirement .  . . and practical strategies for finding part time gigs. We talked about the types of jobs out there, companies doing the hiring, how to make sure your skills are a good fit and where to search.

Click the player icon at the top of the newsletter to listen to the podcast - it also can be found on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Stitcher.

Not a subscriber yet? Take advantage of a special offer

Sign up now for the free or subscriber edition of the newsletter, and I’ll email a copy of my latest retirement guide to you. This one looks at dealing with the Social Security Administration during the COVID19 crisis.

Customer service at the Social Security Administration has changed during the coronavirus crisis - the agency closed its network of more than 1,200 field offices to the public in March.

Just a reminder- subscribers, have access to the entire series of guides at any time. Click on the little green button to subscribe, or go here to learn more.

Retirement abroad: A new calculator helps you figure it out

If you’ve ever toyed with the idea of retirement abroad but have no clue where to go, a new calculator could give you a first-cut look at some ideas.

International Living magazine has launched an Overseas Retirement Calculator to generate a list of places where you budget may provide good value. You input data about your age, savings, and projected retirement budget, and the calculator generates overseas options to consider in Latin America, Southeast Asia, and Europe. All of the locations appear on International Living annual Global Retirement Index, which details the world’s top retirement locales.

If you do give this calculator a whirl, keep in mind that it is no more than a starting point -do your research carefully before heading off somewhere!

I interviewed one of the magazine’s editors last year on how to do this.

What a shock - people are throwing away thick packets of disclosure forms

Barbara Roper @BarbaraRoper1

Advisors Say Clients Not Responding to Form CRS wealthmanagement.com/regulation-com… This was entirely predictable to anyone who knows anything about how retail investors respond to disclosures -- a group that apparently doesn't include decision-makers at @SEC_News.

wealthmanagement.comAdvisors Say Clients Not Responding to Form CRSSome advisors report that few clients have asked any questions resulting from the new disclosure document, leading them to wonder if they are reading it at all. 'I think people might just be a little bit numb to the amount of disclosures.'

A key criticism of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s new Regulation Best Interest is that it relies too heavily on disclosure - so long as brokers tell you about all their conflicts of interest, all is well. Now, advisors report that clients are ignoring the disclosure forms. Shocking!

ICYMI: Race and retirement

NYT Business @nytimesbusiness

The economic inequities facing Black and other Americans of color don’t end when people retire. The gaps in resources for retirement were large before the pandemic. Now, Black and Latino retirees are especially likely to lack sufficient resources.

nyti.msAmerica’s Retirement Race Gap, and Ideas for Closing ItScholars and policymakers have proposed ways to fix the inequities between whites and people of color, including changes to Social Security and building wealth from birth.

In last weekend’s New York Times, I examined how structural racism impacts people of color in retirement, and ideas that have surfaced to address the problem. Racial gaps in retirement security were large before the coronavirus struck, and the economic disruptions caused by the pandemic could worsen the problem.