Pandemic taking toll on plans for retirement

Besides the financial roadblock, health risks force many to defer plans

David Jarmul and his wife, Champa, long envisioned what their retirement would look like. After returning from a twoyear Peace Corps stint in Moldova in 2018, the couple, both 67, planned extensive travel, including trips to the Baltics, West Africa and Sri Lanka.

“Travel is our passion — it’s what we love to do,” said David Jarmul, who retired in 2015 as head of news and communications for Duke University.

For now, the two are living a COVID -19 retirement — packed with volunteer and social pursuits but reconfigured for a social distancing world. Jarmul is delivering groceries to a local food pantry and engaging in a get-out-the-vote letter-writing campaign. And the two are caring for their 15month-old grandson — playing hide-and-seek and reading books — while their son and daughter-in-law work from home and supervise the online classes of two older sons.

As for his retirement dreams, Jarmul considers himself fortunate compared with those with true hardship. “Despairing is not a great solution,” he said. “We are trying deliberately to fill our lives with activities that give us meaning — remaining connected to our friends and being good members of the community.”

Just as the pandemic has upended the lives of students and workers, it is derailing the plans of many retirees. Besides any financial toll, the significant health risks that COVID-19 poses for the elderly are forcing many retirees to defer cherished items on their bucket list: travel, volunteering at hospitals and schools, socializing at senior centres, and excursions to sports and cultural events.

Because of their age, some retirees worry they may need to scrap their plans altogether if coronavirus dangers persist.

“We recognize as we get older that the single most valuable thing we have is time, and healthy time. And time is being lost in this moment,” said Paul Irving, chair of the Milken Institute Center for the Future of Aging, in Santa Monica, Calif. “It’s a source of anxiety for a lot of people who may be deferring plans to move or to spend time with kids and grandchildren.”

Still, more than six months into the pandemic, many retirees, after what some described as a period of fear and hopelessness, are finding ways to adapt.

Since the pandemic started, Phyllis Diamond, a New York therapist and retirement coach, said clients are calling for advice on revising their retirement expectations.

For many retirees stuck at home, technology is a lifeline. Though initially intimidated, they’ve turned to Zoom, YouTube, apps and streaming platforms to meet with friends, exercise, visit museums and volunteer. The pandemic “is forcing many retirees to use technology that they may not have used previously,” said Roger Whitney, a certified financial planner in Fort Worth, Texas, and author of the book “Rock Retirement.”

Diamond said that she and several clients take classes with Vitality Society, a virtual platform for people 60 and older that combines live exercise and wellness classes with social interaction among members.

Indeed, for retirees who previously kept busy schedules dining with friends, visiting the gym and hobnobbing at senior centres and volunteer programs, the potential for isolation and loneliness is a real concern.