Forced Into Retirement Before You're Ready? Here Are 3 Critical Moves to Make.

For many people, retirement is a transition that's planned for carefully. But you may end up getting forced into retirement for a number of reasons -- downsizing at work, health issues, or the need to care for a family member.

Retirement can be stressful enough when you do it on your own terms. When you're forced into it, things can get even harder. With that in mind, here are a few critical moves to make if retirement has come about sooner than expected.

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1. Assess your immediate cash flow and expenses

If you're thrown into a sudden retirement, the first thing to do is see where you stand financially. That means figuring out your immediate cash flow and expenses.

Start by reviewing your monthly bills to see what your essential needs amount to. This may, unfortunately, have to be a period where you hit pause on non-essential spending until you've come up with a more long-term game plan. Then, see what income you can access immediately.

Have an emergency fund with four months' worth of bills? That's the first place you can go to get money to cover near-term costs.

Have an IRA or 401(k) you were saving for your post-working years? See how much money is in there and figure out a withdrawal strategy.

You may also, depending on how your retirement plan is invested, need to make some changes. That could mean shifting into a more conservative asset mix now that you except to start tapping your portfolio immediately, as opposed to a few years down the line.

2. Figure out if claiming Social Security is on the table and makes sense

If you've been forced into retirement and are at least 62, you should be able to claim Social Security. But whether that's a good idea or not depends on your total financial picture, age, and financial needs.

If you were born in 1960 or later, you can't collect your Social Security benefits in full until a full retirement age of 67. If you're 62 and file five years early, you'll slash those monthly payments by about 30%.

You might need Social Security immediately to pay your bills if your emergency and/or retirement savings can't cover you. But if you have a large enough IRA or 401(k) balance to cover your costs for a couple of years without depleting your balance, and you're a couple of years shy of full retirement age, waiting on Social Security could make sense.

3. Explore all benefits and temporary income sources available

Losing your main income stream could be a major blow -- even if you're able to start getting Social Security shortly after the fact. Another smart move is to see what temporary income streams are available to bridge the gap between your original retirement date and right now.

For example, let's say you weren't planning to retire for another three years. There may be a way to leave your nest egg untapped so as to not derail your plans.

For one thing, you may be entitled to unemployment benefits and severance pay if your forced retirement came as the result of a layoff. Look into your options and file a claim for unemployment at once, even if you plan to start collecting benefits from Social Security.

Next, see if there's temporary work you can do. That could mean consulting in your former field or exploring gig work.

If you were forced into retirement not because your job went away, but because you can no longer manage it, see if other income streams exist. Renting out part of your home could be a possibility if you have the space and the right setup.

Being forced into retirement stinks. There's really no getting around that. But before you panic or assume the worst, try to approach the situation calmly and realize that you may have more options than expected when it comes to covering your living costs.

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