All over the United States, thousands of engineers are deciding to retire early. They have chosen early retirement to prevent huge losses in their pension payouts; retiring before the end of 2022.
Engineering Exodus Equation
Financial advisors are encouraging their clients 57 or older to retire . The lump sum pension payout difference between this year and next is huge due to incredibly low interest rates last year and incredibly high interest rates. For many engineers on pensions that allow for lump sum payouts the difference equals an entire salary or more.
Boeing, who has already lost hundreds of engineers to early pension retirement back in November, has been working to keep critical staff and the retention of 'tribal knowledge'. It was reported that Boeing offered over 25 of their key staff "about $400,000, mostly in Boeing stock" if they would stay an additional two years; only nine said to have accepted the offer.
Filling The Gap
With the loss of senior engineering knowledge and subject matter experts (SMEs), there is an opportunity to regain engineers. Many engineers are looking to establish themselves as independent contractors and come back to work in 2023. Companies like Boeing are constantly hiring (now more than ever) and estimate their hiring of 9,000 engineers globally this past year (6,500 in the US).
Forecasting
With a loss of so many senior engineers in 2022 across large corporations, there will be a strong test to see how industries are affected. We are monitoring news of delays in production, new initiatives/products, R&D, and the growth of hiring incentives to cover the engineering exodus of 2022.