Time to finally retire?

As was seen recently in the Joe Biden saga, a refusal to recognise the passing of time can cause problems for those around you. Just because you believe that you are still up to the job, others around you might see negative aspects of your performance that you can’t or won’t see.

Indeed, Biden’s age and competence, had a major negative effect on his party and colleagues in the race to be US President in November’s election. Sleepy Joe initially resisted the calls to be put out to grass, but was eventually persuaded by his family, that for the good of the country, that it was time to take a back seat.

This can have parallels in business when the person in question resists attempts by colleagues, friends and even family, to step back from the fray and finally put their feet up. I have no doubt that there is every chance that some readers of this Blog will be past state retirement age, but nevertheless are still heavily involved in running a business.

NHS Alzheimer statistics

By coincidence, just at the time when Joe Biden was struggling with his decision on whether to go or soldier on, the NHS published the latest statistics on dementia (which includes Alzheimer disease). The stats show a record number of half a million people in England alone suffering from the condition.

The vast majority of sufferers are in the 80+ age group but scarily, around 10% of victims are aged under 65. The data also shows that over a third of people with the condition have not had a dementia diagnosis, which means that many in this group could well be unaware that they are suffering from this insidious thief of cognitive powers.

The culture of late retirement

Early retirement has been standard practice in most large firms for many years now, primarily because historically, the majority of senior managers/partners worked themselves into the ground, with many suffering from burn out. In small firms however, most are still controlled by one or two individuals, with a majority of them past what used to be the traditional retirement age of between 60 and 65. 

Statistically, most of this group are men and for many, age isn’t a problem, as they’re still very capable. I also accept that older business owners can be a good thing, as they usually offer a wealth of experience and the trust of clients built up over decades. 

However, as has been shown by President Biden, cognitive impairment can become a major issue and its onset is sometimes astonishingly quick. I’m not talking about what is referred to as the odd ‘senior moment’, such as forgetting a name or telephone number, which we’ve all done from time to time. No, I’m referring to the increasing incidence of such ‘moments’, which is what was happening to Joe Biden.

Age concern

This is not about the charity, but when you can no longer trust a senior  member of staff to do their job adequately. At one level, it could be an embarrassing tendency to make inappropriate remarks to clients, but it may progress to the point where inappropriate advice might be given to clients.

As we’ve seen from the recent Joe Biden saga, an individual’s judgment may be influenced by his belief that ‘no one else can do the job as well as me’. This is especially true when it comes to the big decision about whether to retire or at least step back from a more influential role. The last thing that anyone wants is to get to the point where it becomes obvious to both staff and more worryingly to clients, that the man in charge, is clearly way past his sell-by date.
 

You can’t make me go!

It is understandable that if someone created a business or possibly took it over from a  parent, there will

be a reluctance to leave ‘the family business’ in somebody else’s hands. Some of these individuals are workaholics who cannot imagine life without the daily grind that has kept them going for half a century or more. Sadly, many in this group have no other interests or hobbies, outside of their business and are therefore frightened as to what awaits them if they go.

Also, if there is no succession plan in place, it may make it almost impossible to depart, at least in the short term. There can also be financial pressures, not only to pay the bills, but increasingly to continue funding ‘the bank of mum & dad’ to financially assist children and possibly grandchildren, through university or help get  them to get on the property ladder.
 

So, what can you do?

Diplomatic skills will be vital when it comes to persuading an ageing and possibly ailing partner/director to consider cutting their hours with a view to retiring in the not-too-distant future. If necessary, you may need to bite the bullet and offer some kind of generous financial terms as a means of securing the long-term future of the business.

Political expertise and subtlety, plus a very delicate approach will be needed to gently persuade the individual concerned, that the time to finally retire has come, but one thing is crystal clear in these types of difficult situations, doing nothing is not an option!

Accountant’s view

Without wishing to pat myself on the back, I foresaw many of the issues highlighted above and started succession planning in my late fifties when I slowly began to take a step back. Now, several years on, I am no longer involved in the day-to-day running of the business and am now very much part-time.

I now take several holidays a year, (I was lucky to have even a long weekend away not too many years ago) and now attend the office for two days a week and thoroughly enjoy coming in to continue to support the business without getting involved in the day-to-day humdrum of running it. 

I still see the odd client, many of whom have been with the firm for a decade or more and who still value my advice built up after many years of experience. I consider this to be a ‘win-win’ situation and thoroughly recommend it to anyone in a similar position.