Busyness and retirement – how the “I’m too busy to plan” may be a way to avoid the fear of facing retirement

Among the least effective excuses people give for failing to save for retirement is that they are too busy. What does it meant to be too busy for something? In short, that other priorities are more important. No one is too busy to miss the opportunity of compound interest’s effect on their savings.

Among the least effective excuses people give for failing to save for retirement is that they are too busy. They may say they are too busy to research plans, too busy to determine how much they need to set aside or too busy to onboard onto a company’s plan.  While the cult of busy has taken over workplaces as a way to show your importance or social capital, when it comes to retirement its just plain silly. What does it meant to be too busy for something? In short, that other priorities are more important. For clients with employees who maintain they are too busy to enroll in their company’s retirement plan, a few key tips could help challenge the too busy excuse.

Advisors can tackle the “too busy to plan” phenomenon by asking employees to focus on priorities. As Leah Goard notes, “We tend to define our priorities in terms of actions like going to the gym, meeting client deadlines, saving money etc. This keeps you focused on checklists & to do’s….” Instead of focusing on tasks, advisors can redirect employees to focus on the feelings they want. Employees may want to feel secure or prepared for retirement, but tackling forms may make them feel less ready. Focusing on feelings can help employees move past the I’m too busy excuse.

Advisors may also have to dismantle the pride over being busy that employees may have. Pride again may come down to feelings. If the idea is that being busy makes and employee feel successful, then an advisor may need to cultivate the same feeling of success and stability in explaining the retirement onboarding process.

“I’m too busy” is also now an excuse of younger generations to avoid things they don’t want to do. No one ever says “I’m too busy” to things they actually wantto do. No one is too busy for a coworker’s adorable baby who visits, even if that baby visits in the middle of a deadline. Working on interpreting the message of “I’m too busy” to mean “I fear this activity” or “I dread this activity” can go a long way. Even better? Directly note the fear and dread and ask employees to do the work anyway. Retirement planning may mean determining how one wants to live in their later years. It may mean thinking about off ramping from a career for children and on ramping again when they are older, even for workers who have no children. But, it doesn’t have to mean that. It can mean enrolling in the company’s retirement plan and determining the right amount for right now. No one is too busy to miss the opportunity of compound interest’s effect on savings.

Additionally, there may be some folks who have prioritized planning at the bottom of the list. Kiplinger’s reports that entrepreneurs, especially, tend to be the worst retirement planners. Those folks direct their time and energy into launching and keeping the business running and usually do so 24/7. Asking them to focus on retirement planning may feel, to the entrepreneur, like asking them to take their eyes off the road while driving. Some may feel like by focusing on their own personal business, they may harm the operations of the business they started (and therefore the folks that work for them). Experts suggest focusing on how retirement planning can help those entrepreneurs protect themselves from emergencies, which can in turn, protect their employees.


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