Many people work hard all their lives and look forward to retirement. If you’ve been gearing up to retire in 2022, you may, at this point, be counting down the weeks or even days until you’re able to tender your resignation.
But not so fast. There are certain pitfalls you might encounter if you opt to retire in the coming year. Here are a few reasons why 2022 could end up being an awful time to bring your career to an end.
1. The pandemic is still raging
Once you retire, you’ll need something to do with your time. But given that COVID-19 cases are surging once again, and that there’s a new variant in play that could result in added restriction and shutdowns, the last thing you need is to retire only to wind up stuck at home and bored.
Granted, things could improve on the COVID-19 front at some point in 2022. But right now, cases are up, and there’s a new variant of concern that could limit your ability to travel and do some of the other things you had in mind for retirement. And so you may want to work a bit longer to stay busy and boost your savings in the absence of knowing what your days will look like.
2. Inflation is rampant
Right now, the cost of living is higher than it’s been in a long time. We can thank inflation for that.
If you retire in 2022, it could end up being a financially stressful prospect. In fact, if you previously mapped out a budget for retirement, you may have to throw it out the window in light of how high consumers’ costs are these days.
Now to be fair, Social Security is giving beneficiaries a huge raise in 2022 due to high levels of inflation. But if you plan to retire and sign up for Medicare, you should know that rising Part B premium costs will eat into your benefits, giving you less buying power at a time when everything costs so much money.
3. Stability is important right now
The past two years have been difficult ones, even if you didn’t lose your job or get diagnosed with COVID-19. And so at this point, if you have a routine you’re used to, you may want to stick to it until things settle down with regard to not just the pandemic, but the economy, too.
Of course, if you hate going to work, then by all means, retire if you can afford to do so. But if you like your job and you’re not worried that it’s compromising your health (say, it’s minimally stressful and you can work from home), then you may want to keep at it while things around you are so turbulent.
What’s the right call?
If you’ve been planning to retire in 2022 for a long time, then you may want to stick to that decision. And that’s OK. Just make sure you recognize the drawbacks of retiring in the coming year so you don’t regret your decision afterward.
