Last month’s poll asked the question “What will it take to keep you on your job?” particularly when you reach (or now that you’ve reached) retirement age. About a third of respondents plan to fully retire and about another third plan to continue working but in a different company. About a quarter would like to work a deal where they can get company retirement pay while also working for the same company as a contractor. Sweet!
When asked what would keep them from leaving their present company, over 40% said it would take a pay increase, and 35% said they wanted job reassignment, maybe along with a pay increase.
It’s pretty clear that folks reaching retirement age aren’t all that excited about staying on their present job. Grandkids, travel, another career all await. Available health care through Medicare is probably a large part of the decisions to leave as are the generous retirement benefits that older utility employees have.
These results are in line with recent reports that the utility industry is approaching a human resources dilemma. See article (http://tdworld.com/blog/utilities-face-massive-brain-drain). However, because of Obamacare, employees not old enough for Medicare now have the option of leaving without much concern over health coverage. That’s something new. So I’m betting that the expected numbers of early retirees will increase.
I’m sure the industry will steer through the crisis. I just don’t know how.
