Worcester Business Journal

22 Worcester Business Journal | October 21, 2024 | wbjournal.com SENIOR RESOURCE GUIDE BY SLOANE M. PERRON Special to WBJ R etirement is the well-de- served break all employees strive for at the end of a hard-worked career. While that respite sounds great in concept, the reality is retirees nation- wide are reversing their decision and re-entering the workforce. According to asset management company T. Rowe Price, approximately 1.5 million retirees reentered the workforce by March 2022, and this trend continues to grow. ere are many reasons why old- er professionals are reversing their decisions to stay retired, but financial survival is No. 1. According to Forbes, 48% of retirees polled said they needed to go back to work because of finances. is sentiment was echoed by Hamilton Soriano, a Worcester-based financial ad- visor for investment firm Edward Jones. Soriano described inflation as a huge pitfall forcing retirees back to work. "ings have gotten so much more expensive in the past two years. If you are not sticking to a retirement bud- get, and things have gotten more expen- sive, then that expenditure has gotten so much larger," Soriano said. "In order to make up that shortfall, you have to go back to work. So, retirees are spending more of the money that they had earmarked for retirement, because inflation has made things so expensive." Four tips for a sustainable retirement Choosing to opt back into the workforce is different than needing to go back to work for financial security. Soriano's job is to make sure his clients have the investments and security to ensure they have the future they want. He shared his tips for a sustainable retirement plan: • Start investing in your retirement early and oen. Even as a young profes- sional, research your employer's 401ks and match plans, and start building your nest egg sooner rather than later. • Reach out to a financial advisor for assistance since the process of retire- ment is not only complex but can be an emotional journey. Having an objective person to help maximize your invest- ments can help you reach your goals. • Be honest with yourself about how you want to spend your retirement so you can budget accordingly. Do you want to travel? Are you going to down- size? Do you have medical needs? • Fix a dollar amount to your hobbies and future plans to ensure you have enough to cover both your needs and your wants. Ultimately, planning now can ensure your future retirement. Making a budget and following it can be hard, especially with unexpected life events, medical bills, and inflation. "Sticking to that retirement budget is important because as advisors, we plan for that number. We adjust for inflation over time," Soriano said. "We make sure that the investments are performing the way they need to when it comes to retirement, where the draw that we are taking from your accounts makes sense and fits the budget that you've created. If we don't have a dialed in number on that, then that's where issues can arise when you're in retirement. So, sticking to that retirement budget is key." Finding purpose and companionship While finances and healthcare cov- erage are driving retirees back into the workforce, there is another aspect of working oen overlooked: the human component. Aer decades of working and being around coworkers, retirement can be quite isolating and lonely. As a result, older individuals might opt back into a job or find a volunteer position just to be around people again, said Jim Metcalf, who works as a mentor for the Worcester County Chapter of SCORE, an entrepreneur advisory group. "Many of us live alone, especially aer a spouse dies, and so we can go for days without ever talking to anybody," Met- calf said. "Some seniors seek out a sense of purpose in a job, and a work site can Ageless ambition STOCK ILLUSTRATION / ALEUTIE Hamilton Soriano Why retirees are re-entering the workforce

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