The UK Government’s latest plan to entice over-50s out of retirement and back into work – following the devastating wave of early retirement occasioned by Covid, and generalised labour shortages across the board – has much to commend it, at least if the speculation around it is to be believed. 

The talk is of possible exemptions from income tax that would not only enable “mature returners” to keep more of what they earn, but enable them to take on less demanding and stressful roles that still pay tolerably well. A win-win initiative, if it comes good. 

Yet the Government didn’t invent any of this. Indeed, at EFM, our pay-as-you go financial management services, including outsourced and interim Finance Directors, have been creating well paid alternatives to retirement for this age group for well over 20 years, and continue to do so every day. 

So, how does it work – and how do you get involved? 

EFM: 50+ reimagined 

Essentially, we enable experienced Finance professionals – many, but not all, of whom typically fall into the 50+ age bracket – to do what they do (and have always done) best, but with significantly more freedom than a traditional in-house role, and often working mainly from home. 

This approach works for a number of reasons. Broadly speaking, you determine not only which clients you wish to work with, but also the number of hours you spend working with them, when, and how. 

Part-time, interim, project work – it’s all up for grabs, potentially, giving you maximum flexibility to accommodate grandchildren, holidays, and social life, pursue community interests, take in that all-important sports match, or whatever else matters to you at your time of life (and traditional work roles would probably get in the way of.) 

Profiting from your expertise 

Financially, too, it works well for both you and your clients. 

This is because the same labour shortage trends the Government is trying to reverse have left many companies short of Finance expertise, and in straitened circumstances, they can’t afford to bring it in-house on a full-time basis (the average salary of a CFO in the UK can be as high as £161,000). Equally, they may simply not require a full-time Finance role anyway. 

They’re keen to pay for what they use, no more, and you’re in a position to offer precisely this service to however many clients you can comfortably take on board (most of our Associates work with two or three clients at any time.) 

An affordable service for each client, multiple revenue streams for you. 

Supporting the leap 

Of course, the decision to come out of retirement and return to work – or the decision to bypass retirement by transitioning to a different way of working – can be quite a leap of faith, given that retirement is traditionally seen as the natural (and desirable) conclusion to a career. So it’s not surprising that Mr. Sunak is incentivising his 50+ reemployment strategy pretty heavily. 

But financial incentivisation isn’t the be-all-and-end-all when it comes to major work-life changes; there also has to be appropriate support and guidance in place. 

This is why, at EFM, despite the fact that most of our Associates are billing within three months of starting with us, and can quickly become financially successful (one of our Associates who came out of early retirement has regularly billed in excess of £9,000 per month, for, on average, less than 60 hours of work per month within the first year of joining us) we place emphasis and effort on other benefits too. 

These include ensuring our Associates receive an induction course, marketing mentorship and lead generation support, and can connect easily to our Advisory Board and over 80 Associates and staff across the UK and Ireland to ask for advice and, for example, create joint client proposals to mutually support each other’s work. 

It’s the difference between committing to an unknown and running with a tried and tested solution (and who wants unknowns at 50+?) 

Retirement? Do better! 

At EFM, we’ve proven over the last 20 years and more that retirement isn’t a foregone conclusion for Finance professionals over 50, and that in many ways this time of life can be a new start, minus the accompanying stress and the upheaval. 

So, are you ready to retire the conventional way, or raring to reboot the EFM way? Your choice. 

For more information on how to become an EFM Associate and join our team of successful outsourced Finance professionals – whatever your time of life – get in touch today.