The pandemic is not over yet, far from it, and it is too early to predict the long term impact but if there is one certainty it is that many people’s retirement plans are changing.

We were given a useful indication of this by figures from the Office for National Statistics out this week that revealed that one in eight workers over 50 have changed their retirement plans.

Interestingly, 10% of over 50s want to bring their retirement forward but another 9% want to push it back. 

Some 1.3m people over 50 are still on furlough and many will be considering how to make up retirement shortfalls. Others, of course, may be closer to standard retirement ages and be thinking now is a good time to quit, a possibility due to the Pension Freedoms introduced in 2015. 

Those working from home are more likely to carry on working later in life compared to those not working from home, according to ONS.

I’ve always believed that, at heart, most British consumers are actually pretty sensible when it comes to finances. They may make blunders and be tempted into rubbish or scam investments from time to time, as we report regularly, but most display admirable common sense most of the time and that's just what they are doing now when it comes to retirement.

The conclusion from the ONS data is that the pandemic has caused a retirement rethink for many people. That’s not necessarily a bad thing - serious thought about retiring and later life plans is often the missing piece of the jigsaw for many savers. That piece is now more firmly in view.

Financial Planners will have a key role here is putting people’s disrupted financial plans back on track. Sound, sensible advice will be in big demand in the coming years as millions change their retirement plans to match the new reality of their finances.

For Financial Planners themselves too there will be a rethink for many. Anecdotally I am hearing of many planners either retiring or planning to sell a bit earlier than they anticipated.

With huge demand to buy good quality Financial Planning firms there has probably never been a better time to sell an advisory business. Ironically, for Financial Planners early retirement has never been a more possible option. That's not something the wide population can 

• Our excellent Financial Planning Today magazine, which contains lots of unique content not published in full on the website or elsewhere, is now available on subscription. Regular features include Planner Casebook, Inside My Business, The Client Hunter, DFM analysis and listings and much more. For a limited time you can subscribe for 12 months for just £49.50 (half the usual price) and this comes with access to unlimited website content too. Use code 50SAVER at checkout. This offer will be ending in the near future.

Kevin O’Donnell is editor of Financial Planning Today and a financial journalist with 30 years experience. This topical comment on the Financial Planning news appears most weeks. Follow @FPT_Kevin