A KPMG employee in New Jersey Tina Bonnano has found a middle ground between full-time work and retirement after serious health problems left her struggling with brain fog, exhaustion and burnout.
After years of working long hours, she decided that completely retiring was financially risky. Instead, she negotiated a “soft retirement” that allows her to work about 20 hours a week while keeping key employment benefits. The arrangement has given her more time for herself without forcing her to give up her career completely.
Serious illness changed her relationship with work
The woman became seriously ill in 2022 and 2023 after an infection resulted in her knee replacement being removed and later revised, reports Business Insider. She spent five months on disability leave from her IT job at KPMG before eventually returning to work. But recovering physically was only part of the challenge.
She experienced extreme brain fog and found it increasingly difficult to concentrate. Managing up to 10 projects during a typical 50- to 60-hour workweek became much harder.
She began to feel that she was heading toward burnout and considered fully retiring when she reached age 66 and became eligible for Social Security. There was one major problem: she did not feel financially prepared to stop working.
Retirement calculations made her nervous
At the end of 2024, she spoke with her financial advisor and asked, “How do I look for a retirement?” They calculated the replacement income she would need along with Social Security. Her advisor told her she would be financially comfortable as long as she did not live beyond 87.
She began searching for a way to reduce her workload while maintaining some financial security. “I need a ladder,” she said, describing what she needed before stepping away from full-time work. That ladder became her “soft retirement.”
She negotiated a 20-hour workweek
After researching her options and repeatedly speaking with HR, she discovered that KPMG could accommodate employees who wanted to reduce their schedules to around 20 hours a week.
The arrangement meant she could earn half her regular salary, receive half her PTO and retain her benefits. Rather than simply asking her employer to let her work less, she created a proposal showing why the arrangement could also benefit the company.
She emphasized her expertise and years of experience, including knowledge that would be difficult to replace.
Her proposed schedule was eight hours on Tuesdays and Thursdays and a half-day on Wednesday afternoon. She would also attend meetings outside those hours when reasonably necessary. The company agreed to her terms in January 2025.
Four-day weekends changed her life
The new schedule gave her four-day weekends and considerably more time away from work. Coincidentally, she had also moved into a new home that needed plenty of attention. She threw herself into gardening and DIY projects, including woodworking and making small tables and shelves.
Her colleagues and clients gradually adapted to her new schedule. She even put her working hours in red beneath her email signature, helping establish clear boundaries.
She has also started working on a book, another project she now has time to pursue.
‘I needed more than Saturday and Sunday to decompress’
Most importantly, the reduced schedule has helped her slow down. She spends time on her deck in a zero-gravity chair, looking at the trees and identifying birdsong with an app. She says the dramatic change has reduced her anxiety and helped her find peace.
“It makes me happy,” she said.
The experience taught her that a traditional five-day workweek was no longer right for her. “Working five days a week no longer suited me because I needed more than Saturday and Sunday to decompress,” she said.
Now, she gets the stimulation and income of working at KPMG three days a week while having the rest of her time for gardening, DIY, writing and simply enjoying life.
