Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, November 20, 1993 TAG: 9311200066
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MAG POFF STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Dondero, who has practiced in Alexandria for 25 years, said the most obvious impact is a sometimes drastic drop in income.
The retiree may or may not be able to find another job. And there may well be a loss of health insurance and other job-related benefits.
People in this age bracket often still are facing the costs of putting their children through college.
The problem, Dondero said, is "getting to be endemic" as companies in Western Virginia such as DuPont, IBM and Norfolk Southern Corp. have offered early retirement incentives as ways of reducing the size of their payrolls.
If the early retiree must move to find work, Dondero asked, what disruption will that cause in the career of the spouse? Or the school progress of the children?
Dondero's advice to workers offered early retirement is to see a financial planner. The retiree and the planner must determine whether it's wise to retire early or - if there is no choice - how best to accommodate it.
Considerations include re-examining goals and resetting priorities to draw up a budget and track the flow of money.
But there are psychological problems as well, Dondero said. Many people view their work as a prime definition of their worth and self-being. Early retirement can mean coping with the loss of their senses of identity.
Before retirement, he observed, people spend all day at work. They give no time or thought to their personal affairs when that should be at the top of the list.
Retirement is a good time to take stock, he said. People then should get help to find out what their options are.
Some people just get by in retirement, he said, while others find retirement is the best thing that ever happened to them. The only way to discover which case is true is to lay all the information on the table.
Dondero spoke to about 60 lawyers, accountants, stock brokers and insurance agents at a daylong seminar sponsored by the Central Virginia chapter of the International Association for Financial Planning. The session was at the Radisson Patrick Henry Hotel.
Dondero said there was no single "right" answer to coping with early retirement.
by CNB