by EMILY VOLZ, NBC 10 NEWS
Mon, January 20th 2025 at 4:30 PM
Updated Mon, January 20th 2025 at 4:48 PM
Workers sitting at desks inside of an office building. (WJAR)
(WJAR) — Does the idea of working for another 20 or 30 years feel unbearable?
Maybe it’s time to consider a “micro” retirement.
The term micro retirement has been gaining a lot of attention on social media, as a growing number of Millennial and Gen Z workers take what amounts to a sabbatical – basically a year or so off from work.
“There’s been just a huge, huge shift after the pandemic where a lot of people who kind of got in love with this remote working experience and they kind of thought that was forever – they kind of got exposed to a different lifestyle, a lot of freedom and then some employees have changed their perspective and forced their employees back to the workforce,” explained Mark Scribner, senior vice president of Wealth Enhancement.
Couple return-to-office policies with a changing economic landscape – many seniors are now working well into their 70s and 80s – and you’ve got a recipe for burnout.
“The normal definition of retirement has definitely shifted, and folks are picking up consulting work after they retire,” said Scribner.
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But is a retiring in your 20s or 30s – even for a brief while – ever a good idea from a financial standpoint?
“This is, generally speaking, when you see this micro retirement, it’s people that have saved a certain amount of money – they’ve banked some emergency funds to be able to pay their bills or travel in some cases,” explained Scribner.
He continued, “They’re not pulling money out of retirement accounts because of taxes and things – generally speaking, it’s for people that are a little bit more affluent.”
Scribner said it’s always a good idea to meet with a financial advisor if you’re considering a micro retirement.
He also notes that re-entering the workforce after micro retirement has become less challenging, as fewer managers are questioning long gaps in resumes.