As someone who has written more than his fair share of articles on retirement, looking at the subject from a variety of perspectives comes with the territory. When one overlays where we are in the equity market cycle on top of baby boomer demographics, reasonable people are expecting a wave of retirees in the next few years. The only question is how big that wave will be.

One question I’ve often asked advisors is how many clients get to decide the day that they retire and how many have the decision made for them. Mandatory retirement ages are rare today, but external forces such as corporate downsizings, individual health issues and economic disruption are taking that choice away from more people.

Nonetheless, among the smaller universe of advisory clients, anecdotal evidence from many of you suggests that many of these folks are positioned to have a major role in deciding their last day of work. Some are even lucky enough to phase their way into retirement.

It’s not a decision to be taken lightly. As Robert Laura writes on page 33, early retirement sounds very sexy, especially to anyone locked on a routine treadmill of a job that occupies their time but is becoming less fulfilling. Laura will address this subject at Financial Advisor's Inside Retirement Conference on September 26.

Nine years into a bull market, more clients are finding themselves in a position where not working is economically feasible.

But these clients may need to plan for what they do when they retire even more carefully than for what they did to get there. Aware of these issues, some forward-thinking companies like T. Rowe Price even offer programs for employees to practice retirement.

In his article, Laura cites academic research with a variety of findings. Among those was the discovery that people who waited one extra year to retire were 11% less likely to die early. Another study found that men who take Social Security early have a 20% increase in mortality risk. Postponing retirement also delays the onset of Alzheimer’s disease, according to the International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry.

At a time like this, these are conversations advisors need to be having with clients more than ever.           

Evan Simonoff