Pandemic forced millions of workers to retire early

The average monthly Social Security benefit for retired workers is $1,503. But 67 percent of retirees on Social Security get less than that because they claimed their benefits before they

reached full retirement age — 67 for people born in 1960 or later — the Social Security Administration says. "Even in good times, most retirements are involuntary,” Ghilarducci says,

because of issues including layoffs, business closures and health problems. “When you ask people if they retired at the age they thought they would, most people say they retired

earlier." TOUGH FINANCIAL DECISIONS IN A DIFFICULT YEAR Before she retired last year from her job as a dental hygienist, Katy Pompe and her husband consulted a financial adviser and

decided to delay putting in for Social Security until their monthly benefits have time to increase. "My husband is a great saver, and he's converted me into being a great saver,”

Pompe says as she walks her border collie, Lotus, in her neighborhood near Phoenix. Now 62, she moved up her timetable for retiring from her job of 17 years soon after the start of the

pandemic, in part because of worries about the health risks. "The straw that really broke the camel's back was the PPE we had to wear,” she says of the heavy personal protection

equipment required in the dentist's office where she worked, which made it hard to communicate with patients. Still, she says, early retirement was a big step. “I was really concerned

about not working, because I've done it for so many years, and I loved it." Even in good times, most retirements are involuntary. When you ask people if they retired at the age

they thought they would, most people say they retired earlier. — Teresa Ghilarducci Other Americans are already burning through their financial resources or reducing the amount they're

saving for retirement. Twenty-two percent say the pandemic has forced them to spend their emergency savings, 10 percent have reduced their retirement plan contributions, and 12 percent have

withdrawn money from their retirement accounts, according to a survey by the National Institute for Retirement Security. The CARES Act temporarily allowed people with pandemic-related

hardships to withdraw up to $100,000 from tax-deferred retirement accounts without penalty. A quarter of workers say their employers have also cut their retirement matches. Among the

companies that suspended their 401(k) matches are Amtrak, BestBuy, Choice Hotels, Dell Technologies, Expedia, Knoll, Norwegian Cruise Line, Quest Diagnostics, RE/MAX, Stein Mart and VMWare.

More and more older workers are carrying mortgage debt into their retirement, thanks in part to the last recession. Forty-six percent of older Americans have mortgage debt, nearly twice the

proportion of three decades ago. Skip Kelley wanted to pay off some debt before he retired, which he intended to do in another year or two. “I wasn't quite there yet,” says Kelley, who

is 61. Then the local television station he managed, in hard-hit Las Vegas, offered early retirement buyouts. "I had a three-week period to make a decision about whether I was going to

end my career or not,” says Kelley. In the end, he took the buyout, which was enough to pay off those remaining debts. As for the lower monthly amount he would get for claiming Social

Security early, “It actually was a big concern. Yes, my benefit is less than it would have been. But in the long run, it's the right decision, and I've adjusted already to

what's coming in." Unlike younger people living in poverty, most retirees have little or no prospect of upward mobility. Social Security and pensions are adjusted only to keep up

with the rate of inflation. “That means you are locked in for the rest of your life” to the same basic income, Radpour says. CONCERNS ABOUT CAREGIVING ALSO LED TO RETIREMENTS Anxieties about

all these things have been heightened by the pandemic. More than half of Americans say their concerns about retirement have increased over the past year, that National Institute for

Retirement Security survey found. The trend is likely to create a downward spiral by putting more strain on younger relatives, who may have to retire earlier themselves to care for their

parents. Even before the pandemic, 40 million people, or 16 percent of the population, were caring for an older person without pay, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Of those,

nearly 60 percent are women, delaying or interrupting their own careers, and a quarter are over age 55. "Younger generations are going to be impacted by their parents going into

retirement if they don't have the resources. So are safety net programs,” says Doonan. Pete Ramirez moved up his own retirement over concerns about being exposed to COVID-19 in his job

as assistant director of a Tucson supermarket. He was especially worried he might pass it on to his parents, for whom he is a caregiver. Both are 90. "At first you didn't see a lot

of people getting sick” at work, Ramirez says. “But then they started getting sick, and I was thinking, ‘I'm taking this home.’ “ Ramirez retired on Jan. 1, just before turning 62,

instead of at 65, as he had planned.