Supplementing a Retirement Income

It’s not uncommon to think about retirement, right? We all do it – daydream about what it will be like when we have complete freedom in our days. It’s like our own little slice of heaven waiting for us as soon as our financial situation is stable.

And in the process we meet with financial advisors to prepare us – they tell us what our minimum savings should be and assist us in projecting future spending, cost of living and expenses. As quickly as the daydream occurs it seems to come to a halt as we leave our financial advisors office. How will we ever have the means to retire?

Maybe we’re not considering all the right options. Does retire have to mean ending a career? Or could retirement come sooner if part of the plan was to work part-time for an agency, picking up shifts when it’s convenient and fits into my schedule? Maybe supplementing a retirement income by working sporadically through a per diem agency could bring this daydream to fruition sooner.

So what things do I need to consider in preparing for this option? The first question that needs to be measured is the distance between my total retirement income and my necessary income to support my lifestyle expenses. Don’t get me wrong, answering this question independently will not help me establish a specific date to retire – but it will send me in the right direction. In addition, a few more questions to consider include: how much I currently have saved for retirement, the average annual interest I believe I can earn on those savings, the amount I need to live monthly including taxes and how much my monthly Social Security dollars will be. Answers to all of these questions will put me on the right track to determining what gap exists and how much income I need to generate through per diem staffing work.

After researching just a bit – I’m not alone in this part-time work status to move up my retiring date. About 25% of retirees fill the income gap by picking up a part-time job. I find comfort in knowing that if 1 in 4 retirees are doing it – it is a viable option and must have some level of success. The bottom line is that supplementing a retirement income is in my control, especially with healthcare staffing agencies like Nurses PRN. Agencies that offer flexibility to working per diem shifts just might change my target retirement date… and that’s worth daydreaming about.