However, the sickness had taken its toll. I suffered extreme brain fog and was unable to concentrate. It became harder to manage up to 10 projects at a time during my typical 50 to 60-hour workweek.<\/p>\n
Have you “soft retired” from your job or profession? Please email Jane Ridley at jridley@businessinsider.com<\/a> to share your story with Business Insider.<\/p>\n I was heading toward burnout<\/a> and considered full retirement when I reached my Social Security age of 66.<\/p>\n Bonanno put forward her proposal to her HR department.\u00a0<\/p>\n Courtesy of Tina Bonanno<\/p>\n Still, I had to acknowledge that I was woefully unprepared monetarily and had no one else’s income to rely on.<\/p>\n I’d talked to my financial advisor at the end of 2024 and said, “How do I look for a retirement?” We came up with a number of what I’d need in replacement income plus Social Security<\/a>.<\/p>\n He said I’d be good as long as I didn’t live past 87. Longevity runs in my family, and I was reluctant to take the risk.<\/p>\n I retained my benefits<\/p>\n I didn’t feel comfortable jumping off the cliff after 10 years at KPMG, so I said, “I need a ladder.” That ladder came in the form of a so-called “soft retirement<\/a>.”<\/p>\n I’m a great believer in putting forward solutions, rather than complaining to your manager. And after a lot of research, I found that my company would keep on someone who wanted to reduce their hours to about 20 hours a week.<\/p>\n I bothered HR more times than I can admit. They told me I could earn half my regular salary and receive half of my PTO while retaining my benefits.<\/p>\n Bonanno has worked for KPMG for 10 years.\u00a0<\/p>\n So I devised a career plan by demonstrating my continued value to them. I’m a subject-matter expert in several areas and have legacy knowledge. I framed the change as meeting the firm’s needs.<\/p>\n My proposal was reasonable and gave a lot of thought to business continuity. I said I’d work eight hours on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and a half-day on Wednesday in the afternoon.<\/p>\n If they needed me for meetings outside those times, I’d be willing to attend, within reason.<\/p>\n My hobbies included DIY projects<\/p>\n They agreed to my terms in January 2025, which coincidentally lined up with my house move to an adorable place that needed some TLC.<\/p>\n My newfound four-day weekends allowed me to unpack pretty quickly. Three months in, people were asking how many years I’d lived there because I seemed so settled.<\/p>\n The yard was completely bare with 14ft hedges. I’m really into gardening, and the landlord was delighted. “Go crazy, and do whatever you want to do,” he said.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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\n Xavier GALIANA \/ AFP via Getty Images
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