Voluntary Early Retirement: Jumpstart the Second Half of Your Career
If you've recently discovered that your employer is downsizing and is offering voluntary early retirement programs, there are some good reasons why you might want to consider taking this course of action. To some voluntary early retirement might seem like an underhanded way to force out older, wiser members of an organization, but to others it could be an easy ticket into another career, doing something new and exciting you've always wanted to try. If you're sick of your job and have been counting down the days until you're eligible to retire as it is, voluntary early retirement could be for you.
Accessing Your Experience
Before you consider voluntary early retirement ask yourself one very important question: Where do I want to go from here? Maybe your spouse is retired and you want to make up for all those years you both spend working, so you see some traveling and leisure time on your horizon. Or maybe you want to apply your skills in a new way, not give up working entirely, and just do something new that you find pleasure in doing. Sit down and write an informal resume. Catalog your skills/responsibilities, making a list of the things you enjoyed doing, and the things you really didn't enjoying doing. If you have management experience you might want to consider trying yourself out as a freelance business consultant. Companies will pay top dollar for good consultants, and you still get to set your own schedule.
Accessing Your Finances
The biggest factor in your decision to take voluntary early retirement is most likely your financial situation. If you want to retire, but don't think you would be financially comfort doing so; you would be wise to hold out for a few more years. You want your retirement to be comfortable in every aspect, and knowing that you are financially set for years to come will help make that happen for you. If you decide that you are unable to take a voluntary early retirement offer, sit down and write out a financial plan for yourself to help you reach retirement when you want to. Set a budget for yourself so that you're pinching pennies now and not later. On the other hand, if you're not prepared for full retirement now, but are planning to seek other revenue-generating opportunities, than you can still make voluntary early retirement work for you. Once you've decided what kind of opportunity you would like to pursue make a business plan for yourself. Figure out how much income you would like, or need, to generate, and start researching your second career.
