Martha M. Hamilton - Downshifting, Not Retiring - washingtonpost.com
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Great article about how retirement is changing. Retirees are not completely leaving the workplace anymore. They are "downshifting", meaning they are still working, just not in the traditional sense. They are perhaps doing work that is part time and not in the same industry or they are doing more charitable work.
Sometimes these "downshifters" are doing the same work, but not full time.
One of the advantages of this "phased" retirement is that there is less of a drain on your retirement savings, allowing more money to accumulate for a longer period. This may provide you the additional savings to retire in the manner you prefer. It may also allow you to defer social security benefits.
Separate from finances, a phased retirement allows one to perhaps do things that have value to them.
There are other benefits as well which we'll cover as time passes. The point with this story is that retirement has changed from the concept of retiring completely, it is morphing and providing potential retirees with more options.
Scott Dauenhauer, CFP, MSFP, AIF
