A recent WO and Review of Optometric Business poll asked readers how they were feeling about retirement planning. Optometrists report varying levels of anxiety, with women reporting more moderate concern and men planning for an earlier retirement.
While nearly three-quarters of ODs said that they are experiencing slight to no anxiety over their retirement planning, 16 percent said that their anxiety level is moderate and more than nine percent said it is significant.
While the overall rates of anxiety reported were comparable, women ODs tended more to “moderate” anxiety and male ODs trended higher in “slight” anxiety. Nearly 51% of the respondents said they were male ODs and nearly 45% said they were female ODs. The remainder chose not to specify gender or noted they were not ODs – but may have been opticians with retirement on the horizon.
Women ODs reported the following levels of anxiety:
- 8%: significant
- 21%: moderate
- 33%: slight
- 38%: none
Male ODs reported the following levels of anxiety:
- 7%: significant
- 12%: moderate
- 44%: slight
- 37%: none
YEARS UNTIL RETIREMENT
In general, a higher percentage of male ODs are planning for retirement sooner than women ODs.
Seventy-seven percent of male ODs plan to retire within 10 years. Forty-five percent of male OD respondents said they plan to retire within five years.
Fifty-five percent of women ODs said they plan to retire within 10 years, and 29% said they plan to do so within five years.
As a group, male ODs responding to this survey were older than women ODs. Sixty-one percent of the male OD respondents said that they have been in practice for at least 31 years.
In contrast, 70% of the female OD respondents have been in practice 30 years or less.
PRACTICE TRANSITIONS
Seventy-five percent of respondents said that they are currently an owner or co-owner of their practice.
Many wrote comments about the challenge of finding someone to take over.
One female OD who has been in practice for more than 40 years wrote, “My practice is for sale but no serious offers. Lots of younger ODs [are looking], but there is lots of debt out there too and non-competes for the employed. I will help transition and offer a more than reasonable price to keep it going onward.”
A male OD, also with more than 40 years in practicing and hoping to retire soon, wrote, “Looking for a good courageous OD to assume the practice.”
Another male OD owner of a practice is contemplating the financials. “I don’t have anxiety about retiring but on how to retire and max out the value of the practice and property.”
YEARS OF PLANNING
Others noted that their stress is low because they’re been planning for years.
A female OD practice owner who hopes to retire in one to two years wrote, “I have been planning this for the last 35 years. I do feel like I have my ducks in a row because of the planning we have done. Will there be some unforeseen obstacle? Possibly. But like everything else in my life, you learn to just ‘go with the flow.'”
WHAT DOES RETIREMENT LOOK LIKE?
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Featured photo credit: Getty Images, witsarut sakorn
