Impact of COVID-19 on Retirees

By Brent Meyer — SafeMoney.com Founder & Editor Reviewed by Licensed Financial Professionals  |  SafeMoney.com — Trusted Since 2011  |  Updated Regularly Quick Answer: Written at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in May 2020, this article examines how the crisis financially affected retirees and those nearing retirement — from forced early Social Security claims to market volatility and Roth conversion opportunities. The core lessons about economic shocks and retirement security remain relevant today. Key Takeaways COVID-era unemployment pushed many near-retirees to claim Social Security early — permanently reducing their lifetime benefits. Workers in the retirement red zone (ages 55–64) who lost jobs during the pandemic faced the greatest difficulty re-entering the workforce. Market downturns historically create Roth conversion opportunities — but timing depends on your individual tax situation. Use a retirement calculator to model the impact. Most near-retirement households had relatively modest stock exposure, which limited — but didn't eliminate — COVID market damage to their portfolios. Guaranteed income sources, like fixed annuities, can provide stability during economic shocks regardless of market conditions. Connect with a SafeMoney advisor to explore your options. The novel coronavirus pandemic has impacted all of us in some way. Almost overnight, the U.S. was hit hard with record unemployment. Many household incomes have been abruptly shut off. Several industries have slowed down to a crawl or else been shut off. Millions of former workers have been forced to dip into their savings accounts in order to pay their monthly bills. Some have even been forced to take distributions from their retirement savings in order to make ends meet. Of course, there is no question that better days would be ahead at some point. The U.S. economy is resilient, and we did emerge from it, though the path was longer for some. Even so, those without the benefit of continuing income from full-time employment or those with a shorter window before retirement may want to take stock of the situation — seeing what steps they can take to protect themselves from the next disruption, whenever it comes. How did this black-swan event affect seniors and baby boomers nearing retirement? In an April 2020 column of the Retirement Income Journal , a former International Monetary Fund official laid out some of the medium-term and long-term possibilities. The Imp