‘ Pretirement’ Brings Benefits to Both Sides of the Hiring Table
By Sharon Emek, Ph. D.
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In old-school retirement, you got the gold watch and were shown the door. Unfortunately, not only did you carry your office belongings out in a cardboard box, you also carried out a career’ s worth of knowledge and know-how. That’ s a tough loss for any industry, but particularly for the insurance industry, which has been struggling to attract and keep talent for years.
Yet boomers have refused to accept that there is only one way to retire, and now they’ re considering“ pretirement,” which allows them to leave the regular workforce to transition to a work-at-home position. It’ s the very premise on which Work At Home Vintage Experts( WAHVE) has thrived. Of course, the insurance industry competes for many of the same workers as other business segments, so offering creative work solutions is no longer a luxury, but more of an expectation. In fact, Justin Bariso, founder of Insight, a global consulting firm, says freelancers compose nearly 34 % of today’ s workforce. By 2020, he anticipates that number to hit 50 %. In addition, he reports that 89 % of organizations will offer“ mobile workstyles” by 2020.
Fortunately, remote work isn’ t a“ compromise” solution; it’ s a work option that offers benefits to both insurance agencies and employees alike. Technology makes the process nearly seamless. Personal or commercial lines processing, policy checking, new business and renewal preparation and quoting to certificates of insurance, underwriting, rating, claims, customer service, and full account management / CSR work— all of these can be performed remotely by experts who knows what they’ re doing. Older insurance workers who aren’ t quite ready to hang it up can hang on longer, reaping benefits like flexibility, engagement and financial security. Agencies gain access to a rich talent pool, regardless of geography.
Even beyond the obvious benefits, there are some other benefits that come with continued work. Here are a few you may not have considered:
• Mental Stimulation. Publishing magnate Malcolm Forbes said,“ Retirement kills more people than hard work ever did.” Of course, retirement might not directly kill people, but it could possibly be implicated in the death of brain
14 KANSAS INSURANCE AGENT & BROKER | September- October 2016 |