• An RTO push by some employers is leading to logistical challenges and space shortages.
• Many companies cut office space during the pandemic, complicating the return-to-office.
• Still, many CEOs are "ripping that Band-Aid and getting people the heck back in."

You might not have a parking spot or a desk, but you might have a CEO who wants you back in the office anyway.

That's the situation facing some corporate workers who've had a bumpy return-to-office process thanks to logistical hiccups.

Late last year, Amazon delayed RTO requirements for some workers because of a dearth of office space and a need to reconfigure some setups. At AT&T, which has also called workers back, employees at some offices have had trouble snagging workspaces in the new year and have resorted to working in a dining area or at conference tables, BI recently reported.

The push to populate hot desks and cubicles comes as many leaders appear fed up with talking about working from home. Some chiefs might see RTO mandates from high-profile companies like Amazon as the cover they need to issue similar orders. Yet, in the effort to bring workers back, not every office was ready for the influx.

"Towards the end of last year, it became clear that CEOs were just done," Dan Kaplan, senior client partner at the recruiting firm Korn Ferry, told BI.

However, he said, some organizations didn't do sufficient prep work to call everyone back — especially after cutting office space during the depths of the pandemic when those who could do so logged on from home.

Now, Kaplan said, for some CEOs, the thinking goes, "We'll clean up the mess later, but for now, we are ripping that Band-Aid and getting people the heck back in the office, come hell or high water," he said.

AI could be adding uncertainty

Some employers are shifting back to the office even as they don't know how much space they'll ultimately need in the next few years because artificial intelligence could one day replace some workers, Dan Root, head of global strategic alliances at Barco ClickShare, which makes tech used in office meeting rooms, said.

"That starts to really make you question, 'OK, well, how much square footage am I going to be committing to?'" he told BI.

Last week, the World Economic Forum reported that in a survey of companies worldwide, 41% said they planned to cut their workforce during the next five years in instances where AI could take on the work.

Another challenge: Some employers adjusted for hybrid setups — and added places for couches and other amenities to draw workers back to the office — that worked well when offices weren't always fully staffed. Yet now that more workers are coming back, space can be tight.

Nick Romito, CEO of VTS, a commercial real estate technology firm, told BI that two to two-and-a-half years ago, many employers looking for office space might have been shopping for less square footage than they'd need to accommodate a full staff. Many employers optimized for hybrid, yet that only works if people don't show up at the same time.

"People trying to adjust for that a few years ago has now hurt them," he said. "They took 10,000 feet when they really needed 15,000."

Employers are catching up

An AT&T spokesman told BI that the company is "constantly enhancing" its facilities to make them desirable and ensure workers have what they need. Office seating for 70% to 80% of employees is an industry standard, given the variables that can affect attendance on any given day, they said.

AT&T is "quickly working through the challenges in select locations so the rest of our employees are best positioned to support their coworkers," the spokesperson said.

An Amazon spokesperson told BI that as of last week, the "overwhelming majority" of its workers had dedicated workspaces and have returned to the office full time. Among Amazon's hundreds of offices globally, "only a relatively small number" aren't yet ready for workers to return five days a week, the spokesperson said.

One reason some CEOs might feel comfortable calling workers back to the office is that while the overall US jobless rate remains low, it's often still a challenging job market for white-collar workers.

The difficulty many might face in finding other work could mean they're at the mercy of their employer's plans, Dan Schawbel, managing partner of the research firm Workplace Intelligence, told BI.

"They might have no choice but to return to the office," he said, though added that in some cases, workers won't be able to comply because of family circumstances or owning a home too far from the office.

Worksites could get crowded if more workers comply with RTO orders than employers might have expected.

"Strategic companies have made these calculations, but there is room for error," Schawbel said.

If workers do quit because they're unhappy with the RTO, Korn Ferry's Kaplan said, it's an easy way for employers to reduce costs without generating negative headlines around job cuts or incurring related expenses like severance or extended benefits.

"For some of them, it's a free layoff," he said.

Do you have something to share about your RTO experience? Business Insider would like to hear from you. Email our workplace team from a nonwork device at [email protected] with your story, or to ask for one of our reporter's Signal numbers.

• Park City ski patrollers reached a deal with Vail Resorts on January 8 after a labor strike.
• Ski patrollers told BI they must work multiple jobs to survive in mountain resort towns.
• Seasoned patrollers say they may change jobs due to unsustainable wages and steep living expenses.

Days after a historic labor strike in Park City ended, America's ski patrollers are caught between their love of the slopes and the steep price of mountain resort living.

Kali Flaherty, for example, doubts she will ever own a home.

The 26-year-old works full-time in ski patrol at Colorado's Arapahoe Basin. For the past three winters, she has kept trails clear, stabilized injured skiers and snowboarders, helped prevent avalanches, and trained rookie patrollers.

Flaherty said it's her "dream job." But her $23 hourly pay isn't enough to cover living expenses, and she works shifts at a nearby healthcare clinic to make ends meet. She rents an apartment with a few roommates in Breckenridge, about 20 miles from Arapahoe Basin.

Like many ski patrollers, Flaherty is in a bind. The cost of living in resort towns like Breckenridge, Vail, Aspen, and Park City continues to skyrocket, pushing out the employees who keep them operational. Being close to these areas is also key for employees because of high commuting costs and dangerous winter road conditions. Several patrollers told Business Insider that they struggle to afford housing, groceries, and gas, let alone build savings. Some expect they will have to switch industries for higher-paying work, and many current patrollers work multiple jobs to stay afloat.

These financial challenges have culminated in labor disputes. On January 8, Vail Resorts granted the Park City Professional Ski Patrol Association a $2 raise for entry-level patrollers — from a $21 hourly pay floor to a $23 hourly pay floor — and agreed to improve benefits . The deal followed a weekslong patroller strike during the busy holiday season.

Meanwhile, ski patrollers at Arapahoe Basin, where Flaherty works, are voting to formalize their union this month. Several other patroller groups at Vail Resorts and Alterra Mountain Company-owned mountains have unionized or taken collective action in the past few years.

Flaherty wants to be a ski patroller for her entire career — but she said it comes with sacrifices. She hopes Park City's contract helps make it possible for employees like her to build financially stable lives near resort towns.

"I don't see myself being able to buy property up here, which is always the dream," she said. "I would love to not be living with roommates my entire life, but the way that I make money as a patroller now, that's my reality."

Representatives for Vail and Alterra — the parent organizations of the ski resorts where the patrollers BI interviewed work — did not respond to comment requests.

Ski patrollers are facing steep expenses and low wages

The average ski patroller makes $21.56 an hour, per the job platform Indeed. Compensation varies based on years of experience, level of medical training, and safety certifications, said the ski patrollers Business Insider interviewed. For example, an EMT or paramedic license might add a few dollars to patrollers' wages. Patrollers' benefits vary by resort, though most receive free lift tickets — which can range from $120 to $300 a day — as part of their role.

For many patrollers, finding affordable housing in the markets where they work is challenging. The five patrollers BI spoke with rent with several roommates, or have to commute long distances to work. The median monthly rent in a town like Breckenridge is $5,000, per Zillow, a price that exceeds some ski patrollers' total monthly income.

Groceries and gas are also costly in many mountain areas because of limited stores and the high transportation costs for goods. A dozen eggs is just over $4 in Denver, but nearly $7 in Breckenridge.

Kyle Eveland, 24, makes $23.28 an hour as a second-year ski patroller at Breckenridge Resort in Colorado. Before he reports to the mountain every morning to set up avalanche mitigation equipment, Eveland said he shovels snow for a nearby property. He works a full-time construction job over the summer, when the ski resort is closed, and recently began a part-time role pumping concrete between his patrol shifts.

"I would love to do what I love every day and take the sacrifice of not making a lot of money doing that," he said, adding "I pretty much live paycheck to paycheck in the winter. It would be super, super tight if I just patrolled."

Right now, Eveland lives in Breckenridge with seven other roommates. He said he took a pay cut when he decided to join ski patrol, despite the job requiring significant training. He previously worked at Breckenridge as a chairlift operator. Eveland said he may need to leave his patrolling job if he wants to afford a down payment or support a family in the future.

"I got my EMT license and that got me a single dollar raise," he said.

Tate Finigan's experience is similar. The 26-year-old recently began his third season as a ski patroller in Park City. Finigan commutes from Salt Lake City, over a 30-mile drive, every day because he can't afford housing in Park City. When he's not on the mountain, Finigan babysits and walks dogs, and previously picked up shifts as a bartender.

"It's been really hard to try and live in this community that we all so badly want to be a part of," he said.

In a profession that relies on experience, seasoned patrollers aren't sure they can stay

Ski patrolling requires specialized skills: sharp ski competence, outdoor survival and avalanche certifications, and medical expertise. The ski patrollers BI interviewed said that this experience is honed over time, meaning that seasoned patrollers are often best at training rookies and handling on-mountain crises.

Mike Reilly, 33, has been a ski patroller at Park City for six years. He cares about his job, but he isn't sure how long he will remain on staff. Each year, Reilly said it becomes more challenging to pay his bills — even with his second job as a barista. Reilly said that cost of living challenges mean many experienced ski patrollers like him are considering leaving for second, more lucrative careers. He recently finished nursing school.

"I went to nursing school, but that was really out of desperation," he said. "I would much rather patrol and remain a career-patroller, if that meant I could afford to pay rent and not work 20 days in a row."

Max Magill is a 10-year ski patroller at Park City and president of United Mountain Workers, a union that represents ski patrollers, lift mechanics, and other resort employees across the Western US. He told BI that efforts to raise patroller wages are happening across America's ski industry because the job isn't financially sustainable long-term. After a decade in the job, Magill said he's still working side gigs and living paycheck to paycheck.

"The operation of big Western ski resorts with avalanche terrain really does hinge on the work of these experienced ski patrollers," he said. "The guest experience would be completely different if there were not experienced ski patrollers being retained at these resorts."

After the Park City deal was struck, Magill said in a press statement that "the victory will help raise employment standards for all ski industry employees."

To be sure, high living expenses impact other mountain employees besides ski patrollers. Reilly said food service, lift operator, lift mechanic, and ticket scanner jobs are also key to keeping resorts open and safe. Many of these employees make similar wages to ski patrollers.

Flaherty isn't sure she can stay on patrol forever, but she's hoping to keep clicking on her skis for as long as she can. It helps to know others in her profession are also working toward a better future.

"Our patrollers have come together more than ever before," she added. "It has created a positive environment to know that we all have each other's backs."

Do you live in or near a resort town? Are you open to sharing how you manage expenses? If so, reach out to this reporter at [email protected].

Two years ago, I got a new phone number. In the eyes of my social media and ride-hailing apps, Amazon, my bank, and the state of Pennsylvania, that effectively meant I lost my identity. Only recently have I emerged from this technology-induced quagmire.

Sitting at my desk with a new smartphone in hand, I slowly rotated my head up and down while staring into the front-facing camera. Then, without breaking eye contact with the lens, I carefully turned my head from one ear to the other. The short clip was supposed to prove to Instagram's security system what I had been insisting for weeks: that I was not an imposter — that I was, in fact, me.

"Thank you for your selfie video," the automated email from Instagram said. "We received this information and it's pending review."

I not only had forgotten my Instagram password but also no longer had access to my old phone number: Since I'd last logged in, I'd switched to a money-saving family plan with a new mobile provider. To get past Instagram's two-factor authentication security — where the app verifies your identity by texting you a secret code — and regain access to 12 years of cat photos and filtered city skylines, I had to upload a video of my face.

As I awaited Instagram's response, I imagined somebody from the company's security team watching my selfie video, eyeballing the pictures I'd posted to my account over the years, and confirming my identity once and for all. A few minutes later — far too quickly for a real person to be behind it — an email arrived. "Your Information Couldn't Be Confirmed," the subject line said. My information? You mean, my face?

"We weren't able to confirm your identity from the video you submitted," the message said. "You can submit a new video and we'll review it again."

As fun as this game sounded, I had other things to take care of.

I figured that suddenly switching phone numbers would result in some headaches, but I didn't foresee how complicated it would actually become. From Lyft and Cash App to Instagram and Amazon, I suddenly had to jump through logistical hoops that varied from one platform to the next to verify my flesh-and-blood identity and regain access to my digital life. Confirming my identity became a part-time job. And as I learned the hard way, fellow human beings who could help me sort things out were hard to come by.

While the origin of text-message-based two-factor authentication goes back as far as the 1990s, it wasn't until the early 2010s that it really started to proliferate. As more people bought smartphones, it seemed convenient to use a person's phone number as a way to confirm their identity. At the same time, the growing frequency and sophistication of data breaches and cyberattacks rendered traditional passwords nearly useless, prompting then-President Barack Obama to write an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal in 2016 imploring citizens to "move beyond passwords" and embrace additional layers of security to protect their data. Even in 2024, hackable passwords like "1234" and "password" remained alarmingly common.

By requiring people to take an extra step (or two) to verify themselves, multifactor authentication offers a massive security improvement over the traditional password. Thanks to remote work, MFA adoption is on the rise: 64% of people using Okta use some form of multifactor authentication, a 2023 report by the company found. Before the pandemic, it was 35%.

Despite its benefits, the system developed a serious flaw somewhere along the way: SMS-based two-factor authentication, which relies on calling or texting someone's phone to verify their identity. Unlike MFA methods that rely on an authenticator app, text-based authentication is arguably the least secure way to verify someone's identity. Unfortunately, it's also one of the most common.

"We often see that less mature organizations have standardized on using that SMS-based code," said Cristian Rodriguez, the field chief technical officer for the Americas at the cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike. Apple, Google, Zoom, Slack, Dropbox, PayPal, and most major US banks and universities are on the long list of sites that still use it.

"It's also easy to intercept," Rodriguez said of the method. "SIM swapping is a really easy way to circumvent that as an attacker."

In a SIM-swapping attack, a hacker can gain control of someone's phone number and wreak havoc on their lives. From their bank and social media accounts to credit cards stored in digital wallets like Apple Pay, the amount of access a cybercriminal can gain is staggering. It shows just how thoroughly our lives are tied to our phone numbers.

Recently, hackers aligned with the Chinese government managed to gain access to US phones via their telecommunication networks in a massive hack dubbed Salt Typhoon, which the federal government says is among the worst in the nation's history. While the exact origins and overall impact of Salt Typhoon are still being investigated, experts say that the two-year infiltration could have affected millions of Americans. In the wake of the attack, which was first reported in October, the feds are advising people to stop using SMS-based authentication.

Unlike our fingerprints or faces, our phone number is not a permanent feature of our identity. It's just a sequence of digits randomly assigned to us by a cell provider when we sign up. If we stop paying, switch mobile providers, or move to a new country, the number is no longer ours. Even an email address — in my case, a 20-year-old Gmail account that I'm certain will continue receiving marketing promotions long after I'm dead — would make a more reliable long-term indicator of who I am than my phone number. After all, my email address will never be reassigned. It's mine. My phone number — along with the roughly 35 million numbers that get reassigned each year, according to the Federal Communications Commission — is another story.

Few companies seem to recognize the problem: In early 2023, X decided to end support for SMS-based two-factor authentication for nonverified users, citing its weakness. Following major breaches, tech giants like Google and Microsoft have also begun to make moves away from SMS authentication. Still, X stands alone among major social media platforms in abandoning it altogether — a fact that I had to learn the hard way.

In most cases, regaining access to my accounts was simple. My bank, for instance, just required a quick phone call to a customer service agent to confirm my identity, bypass MFA, update my phone number, and reset my password.

Instagram, an operation notably larger and more resourced than the small credit union I bank with, did not offer a customer service hotline. Instead, after about half a dozen clicks from Instagram's login screen, I found my way into the depths of a customer service FAQ page that suggested I send a video selfie. I had to send several videos into the automated void before the app caved and let me back into my account.

My Amazon account, which includes services like Audible, Alexa, and Whole Foods shopping, proved a surprisingly impenetrable fortress. After clicking my way through a labyrinth of links, I eventually reached a prompt that asked me to upload a photo of my passport to verify my identity. After not hearing anything for a week, I tried again. A few months later, Amazon let me back in. (Instagram and Amazon did not respond to multiple requests for comment.)

Thanks to the ongoing AI-ification of customer service and the growing use of chatbots, the privilege of speaking with a real person is increasingly rare. To this day, I'm unable to verify my LinkedIn profile. Even after asking for my current phone number, the identity-verification platform used by LinkedIn, Clear, continues to text a six-digit code to my old phone number, which it somehow summons from the cloud. Of course, there's no one to speak with to resolve the issue. Oh well.

Getting locked out of social networks and online shops is extremely annoying. But it's nothing compared to the nightmare I suffered through when I tried to sign up for unemployment benefits after getting laid off from my journalism job.

The state government of Pennsylvania uses the aptly named ID.me service to handle its website login and identity verification for services like unemployment. On its website, ID.me boasts integrations with 19 federal agencies, 35 healthcare-related organizations, and more than 600 online stores in its mission to empower consumers with "a single log-in that lets you easily prove you're you." There's just one problem: ID.me ties your digital identity to your phone number.

When I tried logging in to the Pennsylvania unemployment site to claim my benefits, I discovered I already had an ID.me account — presumably from some other government site I had previously accessed. That account, of course, was linked to my old phone number.

Without access to that number — and having no clue what my password might have been — my only option was to submit a request to bypass MFA and regain access to my ID.me account through the company's customer service help desk.

After I got an automated confirmation email from Roy, the self-described "virtual agent" at ID.me, my request went ignored for 48 hours. After multiple follow-ups and a great deal of patience, I was finally able to set up a phone screening with a real human. Ten days after my initial request, I was on the phone with a customer service agent who emailed me some instructions: Fill out a few forms and send them back along with digital scans of my passport and Social Security card. Normally, sending such sensitive information over email would give me pause, but in this case, the ID.me customer service agent was holding my identity and my financial security hostage, so I was inclined to do whatever he asked. I could only hope that ID.me's cybersecurity practices were more robust than its customer service operation.

After 30 days of submitting and resubmitting various identifying documents, I was finally able to log in to my account. By then, I had taken care of my unemployment needs the old-fashioned way: filing my application manually over the phone — a process that took nearly three hours over the course of two excruciatingly tedious phone calls. (ID.me did not respond to a request for comment.)

Technology that used to promise to simplify our lives now seems to make everything more complicated. Before automated self-checkouts entered the grocery store, the checkout process was never interrupted by a confused machine thinking you forgot to scan an item, forcing you to wait for a human to help. For all the innovative "smart" technology that has wormed its way into modern cars, it often feels like we're one software glitch away from getting locked out of them, too.

It's 2025 — we have artificial intelligence that's capable of forming romantic relationships. I should be able to unlock my laptop with my thumbprint or scan my face to quickly access my online shopping accounts. If our tech is this advanced, why is it still so hard to convince the machines it's actually us?

You don't have to take my word for it. You can ask Keith, the person who had my new phone number before me. I have no idea who Keith is, but I know he, too, is having trouble getting back into his websites and apps because I keep getting texts containing six-digit verification codes that I never asked for. While I eventually got back into most of my accounts, it seems that Keith is still struggling.

Keith, if you're out there: Your prescription is ready to pick up at Rite Aid.

John Paul Titlow is a freelance journalist who writes about technology, digital culture, travel, and mental health.

• NATO allies worry that the growing threat China poses may distract the US from Europe.
• A seapower expert argues the forces needed in Europe are different than in the Asia-Pacific.
• A confrontation over Taiwan would be primarily a naval fight; Europe would be a land battle.

China's threat to Taiwan also poses a profound dilemma for NATO — does it tie up its most powerful ally from European defense at a critical moment?

A new study suggests that while splitting US military resources and focus is a problem, it's a manageable one. That's because the American forces needed to stop a Chinese fleet in the Strait of Taiwan are not the same as those suitable for destroying Russian tanks on the European steppe.

"For example, it is unclear whether armor and multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS) have as much utility in a Sino-American conflict — a primarily maritime theatre — as they do in Europe (although both capabilities have a role in each theatre)," wrote analyst Sidharth Kaushal in a report for the Royal United Services Institute.

America has had to cope with the dichotomy between the Atlantic and the Pacific since World War II. In that war, the European theater was a ground conflict fought between huge mechanized armies and hordes of land-based aircraft, albeit with a smaller naval component in the sea battle to resupply Britain. The Pacific theater was a naval and air conflict fought among scattered islands, which put a premium on aircraft carriers, submarines and mobile amphibious units such as the US Marine Corps.

Compounding the problem is that modern armies and weapons are expensive. The US could afford to fight a two-front war in 1941. Building a military sufficient to simultaneously defend Taiwan and Europe today would be ruinous, one of the many reasons the US maintains strong alliances in both regions. To be sure, the US backs Taiwan's independent government, but it's unclear whether it would commit forces to Taiwan's defense.

However, Kaushal believes that the problem may be manageable by focusing on a couple of key variables. In particular, the success of an invasion of Taiwan depends upon China's ability to achieve sufficient air and naval superiority to protect the amphibious fleet ferrying assault troops and the logistics they depend upon.

"The crux of any defense of Taiwan will be denying it this superiority," Kaushal argued. "If this is achieved, it is likely that Taiwan's forces can mount a successful forward defense of likely landing sites on the island, making a protracted defense and the subsequent flow of US forces superfluous. If not, the battle will likely end before either of these things can be considered."

In turn, this means that only some American military capabilities would be relevant, especially anti-ship missiles, submarines and mines. Naval drones, like those wielded by Ukraine, may also prove powerful weapons to attack a Chinese armada. Conversely, heavy armor — and the capacity to transport it — would be paramount in supporting NATO against a Russian attack.

But sinking a Chinese fleet will require SEAD (suppression of enemy air defenses) missions against defensive systems protecting the invasion convoys. And it's there that the difference between the Atlantic and Pacific becomes manifest.

In Europe, Russian ground forces would be protected by land-based surface-to-air missile (SAM) batteries and radars, which are mounted or transported by truck. NATO would first have to locate them and then strike them with air-launched anti-radar missiles such as the US AGM-88 HARM, or ground fire from artillery, tactical missiles, and drones.

A Chinese invasion fleet in the narrow 110-mile-wide Taiwan Strait, by contrast, would be an easily detected target and would be out of range of land-based SAMs on the Chinese mainland. Air defense would have to come from weapons on the Chinese warships, which can put out an impressive amount of firepower against hostile aircraft and missiles. China's Type 055 Renhai-class cruisers, for example, are equipped with 112 vertical launch tubes that can fire anti-aircraft or anti-ship missiles. The ships are also likely to be defended by fighter jets, many launched from airbases in China.

"SEAD in the European context is primarily a function of the ability to suppress or destroy a layered network of elusive and mobile ground-based SAM systems," Kaushal wrote. In the Taiwan Strait, "the challenge is not that targets are elusive, but rather that they are exceedingly well defended."

SEAD weapons, such as the HARM missile, aren't really designed to hit ships. So rather than targeting Chinese air defenses specifically, the US and its allies should simply concentrate on sinking warships. Every Chinese warship destroyed is one less escort for the troop ships.

In a Taiwan war, "SEAD is largely synonymous with anti-surface warfare and OCA [offensive counter-air]," Kaushal wrote. "If the picket of destroyers and cruisers protecting an invasion force suffers substantial losses and if [People's Liberation Army] aircraft, including AWACS, cannot freely operate over the Strait, the amphibious vessels on which an invasion defends are much less defensible." Advanced warning and control aircraft are flying radars that detect hostile threats for a wider force.

A similar dichotomy between Europe and the Pacific applies to weapons needed for missile defense. "While all US IAMD [integrated air and missile defense] will be missed, some capabilities will leave more of a gap than others," Kaushal told Business Insider.

In Europe, the threat is largely from Russian cruise missiles and short-range ballistic missiles. Against these weapons, the best defense is blast-fragmentation interceptors — which detonate an explosive charge near the target — or shorter-range hit-to-kill rockets (which kinetically slam into a missile) such as the US PAC-3 launched from the Patriot air defense system. In the Pacific, the threat is from Chinese intermediate- and medium-range ballistic missiles, such as the DF-21 "carrier killer" missile. Defense against them favors longer-range, high-altitude hit-to-kill interceptors such as the American SM-3 and THAAD.

Weapons won't be the only precious commodity split between East and West. Running two regional wars comes with a problem beyond firepower: brainpower. It demands the US has enough decision-makers and staff officers to focus on their own theater, but distractions are common and even likely — similar to the US loss of focus on Afghanistan after the 2003 invasion of Iraq. In World War II, the European theater had priority. Today, it's more likely to be the Pacific.

Either way, Europe needs to build up its capabilities in case US resources are diverted to the Pacific. This includes air and missile defenses, hardened airbases, and improved anti-submarine warfare systems, Kaushal said.

Europe accepts that America's attention will inevitably switch to the Pacific. "The prospect of the US needing to reallocate resources is increasingly viewed as a structural reality rather than a question of any given administration's policy," Kaushal said. But public discussion "tends to stop at the point where it is assumed that US resources will be stretched and that Europe must fill the gaps, with little granularity as to which resources and what gaps are of greatest concern."

Michael Peck is a defense writer whose work has appeared in Forbes, Defense News, Foreign Policy magazine, and other publications. He holds an MA in political science from Rutgers Univ. Follow him on Twitter and LinkedIn.

• Albert Greenwood and his wife moved to Nepal for a more affordable retirement in 2023.
• He feared high US retirement costs and wanted to be near his wife's family.
• Nepal offers lower living costs, robust healthcare, and a supportive community.

Albert Greenwood, 56, worked high-paying jobs throughout his career but feared rising costs would make his retirement in the US less than optimal.

Like many Americans seeking a cheaper place to retire, Greenwood decided to look abroad. However, he moved to a country with fewer expats than many of its neighbors: Nepal.

His wife grew up in Kathmandu, and they decided to move closer to her family and for their money to go farther. Between his savings and retirement income, Greenwood said life since moving in 2023 has been less stressful and more enjoyable. Still, he said he isn't sure his retirement abroad would have been so smooth if he didn't have a prior connection to the country.

We want to hear from you. Are you an older American who has moved to a new country or state for retirement? Please fill out this quick form.

"We live nicely in a way that I would have to have much more to live like this in the US," Greenwood said. "But I know not everybody has success with these moves. If you have a big family, you miss them, and maybe that's going to be a problem."

Greenwood is one of dozens of Americans who spoke to Business Insider about retiring abroad, fearing retirement costs in the US. Many Americans aren't fully prepared for retirement, and many who have retired say their savings are often not enough.

Retirement fears in the US

Greenwood was raised in Philadelphia and spent his college years in upstate New York and Boston. He secured his MBA and worked in a variety of brand management and business development roles, earning six figures a few years into his career. He then became head of sales for a manufacturer of Asian-inspired foods in the New York City area. Ten years ago, he married his wife, a flight attendant turned hair colorist.

He retired at 55 after living beneath his means and getting a small portion of his company's sale to a private equity firm. Greenwood knew he could retire "comfortably enough" in the US, but he worried about rising healthcare costs even with company health insurance as one of his retirement benefits, which he said wasn't the greatest. He also grew tired of the grind, New York's winters, and the country's polarized political climate.

He and his wife, 39, wanted to have a child through IVF, but costs were estimated at $60,000. Rising housing costs also pressured him to consider other options; he paid $3,500 a month "for a box" in Westchester County, north of New York City.

"Between rent and everything else, how much are you able to save even on a good salary?" Greenwood said, adding he found New York's social climate increasingly aggressive. "I may have been able to fly by in retirement, but at what level?"

He and his wife, born in Kathmandu, hoped to move to Nepal after his retirement, and after a few years of financial planning, they moved on May 1, 2023. Greenwood had sold his co-op a year before moving and tried to tie up loose ends well in advance — including figuring out how to transport his cats to Nepal.

"The process has been a lot better than I thought it would be, but you've got to prepare and really try to think of everything," Greenwood said, noting that he used a VPN to get everything set up, including bank accounts for wiring money. "It makes it easier when all your credit and debit cards work."

Retiring in Nepal with a lower cost of living

They briefly stayed at a rental place near the king's palace while finalizing his long-term visa, which he got through his wife. They found a four-bedroom home with a garden in one of the city's wealthier districts for about $1,150 monthly. Greenwood said the land is expensive — the home he rents he estimates could sell for $850,000 — but rents are surprisingly low.

Compared to what he paid in the US, he said food costs are about half, while medications are often a third of the cost. He and his wife spend $35 monthly on electricity, which he said has been consistent except during rough storms. His cellphone plan is about $7 monthly, and he pays $22 every six months for garbage disposal.

Greenwood earns about $3,000 monthly from investments and has an IRA he can access once he turns 59 and a half.

He said he's embraced travel in his retirement, including to Thailand, Japan, and Singapore. He's adopted routines including long walks, writing, and community engagement.

Greenwood said Nepal is cheaper and safer for raising children than the US. He said IVF treatment costs about $3,000, and child healthcare is robust in Kathmandu. His wife has many family members nearby who could help care for their child and have guided them on living comfortably.

Healthcare costs are also much lower, and he said the quality of care he receives has been high and specialized, though he acknowledged some of the public hospitals are hit or miss.

Greenwood noted that Kathmandu's infrastructure is more robust than most of the country. Hundreds died in earthquakes and flooding across the country in 2024, including over 300 deaths during monsoon season.

Still, he said the roads in the capital are mostly safe, and many buildings are robust enough to survive most natural disasters. Temperatures rarely drop below 40 degrees Fahrenheit and are frequently in the 80s during the spring and summer, though there is often smog in the winter months.

Growing accustomed to life in Kathmandu

He said that he's found many Kathmandu residents very tolerant of different religious and personal beliefs, adding that many Bangladeshi residents have recently moved to the city. Greenwood said Nepal has many festivals and public holidays that unite the community. He added that life is slower and more relaxed in Nepal than in the US.

"Things take longer here, but that being said, if I have a problem with my door or the shower isn't working, the repair guy is here in 20 minutes," Greenwood said.

He's found that nearly everyone speaks English in his part of Kathmandu, though he's studying Nepali to better communicate with locals. He said his two nephews learned English as their first language. While he said many value education in Kathmandu, there is a lack of job opportunities for younger people.

Greenwood said he's worked with a lawyer to extend his visa for the immediate future. He believes Nepal's healthcare infrastructure will fit his long-term needs.

"The setup matters a lot. I was set up with my wife, who was raised here with a big family, and they're very much together, which has really helped me," Greenwood said. "But I imagine if I couldn't speak Nepali, it would be very difficult for me to really handle it."

We want to hear from you. Are you an older American who has moved to a new country or state due to retirement fears? Please fill out this quick form or email this reporter at [email protected].

• Snacking can be an easy way to eat more fiber and boost gut health.
• Fiber helps fuel the "good" microbes in the gut, which influence overall health.
• Emily Leeming, a gut health scientist and chef, snacks on dark chocolate and fruit.

Snacking can be a great way to eat more fiber and look after your gut health, Emily Leeming, a dietitian and gut microbiome researcher at King's College London, told Business Insider.

The gut microbiome is the name given to the trillions of microbes that live in the colon lining, which studies have linked to our overall health — from the immune system to the brain.

Fiber, found in foods such as fruit, vegetables, whole grains, and beans, fuels the "good" microbes in the gut. And studies suggest that it helps create a more diverse microbiome, an indicator of a healthy gut. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends that adults eat 22 to 34 grams of fiber each day.

Snacks make up around 20% of the average person's energy intake, Leeming said, so choosing more nutritious foods can be a "great strategy to making big inroads for our health."

"When you're feeling hungry, you can think, 'Okay, can I get at least five grams of fiber in a snack?'" Leeming, a trained chef and the author of "Genius Gut: The Life-Changing Science of Eating for your Second Brain," said.

Leeming shared her four go-to snacks that boost her gut health.

Fresh or dried fruit

Fresh or dried fruit is a delicious snack, a great source of fiber, and easy to eat on the go, Leeming said: "I love fruit, I eat a lot of it."

Berries, in particular, are high in fiber, and can be sprinkled on top of a sweet breakfast such as oatmeal or Greek yogurt in seconds, she said.

Dried apricots, which contain seven grams of fiber per 100 grams, are another of her favorites.

Nuts

As well as containing heart-healthy fats and plant protein, nuts are high in fiber.

They contain around seven to nine grams of fiber per 100 grams and typically require no prep, making them the perfect quick, gut-friendly snack.

Leeming keeps a jar of mixed nuts by the kettle in her kitchen, so she can eat them while she waits for it to boil.

"The things that I want to eat more of, I keep in my line of sight. That just visually prompts you to go for them as a first step," she said.

Crudités and dip

Leeming likes to keep plant-based dips such as hummus or guacamole, and some chopped-up veggies in the fridge so she can grab them when she's feeling peckish.

"Just having some snacks that are more healthy and easily available really helps," she said."I really focus on things that are easy and simple that you just don't have to do lots of mental logistics to kind of make happen."

Vegetables contain fiber, as well as the chickpeas in hummus, and the avocado in guacamole.

Dark chocolate

85% strength dark chocolate is surprisingly high in fiber, Leeming said: "It's about 11 grams of fiber per 100 grams."

She loves to have two squares paired with some fruit as a snack. "That's making a significant contribution toward that 30 grams of fiber a day that we need," she said.

Dark chocolate, which contains antioxidants, also has other health benefits. A recent study based on around 110,000 nurses, published in the BMJ, found that those who consumed at least five servings of dark chocolate a week had a 21% lower risk of type two diabetes from the baseline than those who had none or rarely ate chocolate.

The authors said this could be because dark chocolate is high in epicatechin, a polyphenol that research suggests could help prevent metabolic disease.

• Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has had a longstanding feud with Apple.
• He once again took shots at Apple in a recent interview with Joe Rogan.
• The CEO said Apple hasn't innovated in a while and criticized the ecosystem the iPhonemaker built.

Mark Zuckerberg is taking more shots at Apple.

In an interview on the "Joe Rogan Experience" podcast that was published Friday, the Meta CEO shared several issues he has with Apple, continuing his decadelong feud with the Cupertino company.

Zuckerberg said on the podcast that Apple has been slow to innovate since the iPhone. He added that the few ways the company has been able to profit since then is by imposing developers' fees and creating an ecosystem that's difficult for other companies to penetrate.

The Facebook creator credited Apple for making one of the most popular smartphones in the world, but he said Apple hasn't "really invented anything great in a while" since the iPhone.

"It's like Steve Jobs invented the iPhone and now they're just kind of sitting on it 20 years later," he told Rogan.

To make up for declining sales in iPhones, Zuckerberg said Apple has been "squeezing people" by imposing what he called a "30% tax" on developers and creating an enclosed ecosystem around Apple's popular products.

"They build stuff like Airpods, which are cool, but they've just thoroughly hamstrung the ability for anyone else to build something that can connect to the iPhone in the same way," he said.

Zuckerberg said Meta experienced this when it was developing the Ray-Ban Meta glasses.

The CEO said Apple declined to let Meta use the same "protocol" Apple uses for Airpods in order to allow the Meta glasses to connect seamlessly to iPhones. Zuckerberg said he believed Apple was using privacy and security concerns as an excuse to keep a wall around the Apple ecosystem.

Meta's chief technology officer Andrew Bosworth echoed a similar sentiment in an October interview with "Stratechery."

"The thing I worry about with Apple specifically is that they have their phones and devices so locked down that they can self-preference a ton," he said, pointing to Airpods as one example.

Spokespeople for Meta and Apple did not respond to a request for comment sent during the weekend.

Zuckerberg has been undergoing his own brand transformation as he preps for a second Trump administration, walking back on content moderation and rolling back DEI initiatives at his company. But his feud with Apple goes back to at least 2014.

Previously, Zuckerberg has criticized Apple's prices, its app store and privacy policies, and, more recently, the company's Vision Pro VR headsets.

Still, Zuckerberg said on the podcast that he remains optimistic.

"I mean, the good news about the tech industry is that it's just super dynamic and things are constantly getting invented," he said. "And I think companies — if you just don't do a good job for like 10 years, eventually you're just going to get beat by someone."

• Skype is a free video-calling platform that Microsoft acquired for $8.5 billion over a decade ago.
• Skype was once the go-to video-calling app and telecommunications industry disruptor.
• But now, Skype has faded out of popular usage in favor of platforms like Zoom and Microsoft Teams.

Skype, a telecommunications platform currently owned by Microsoft, became ubiquitous in the early 2000s, at one point accounting for up to 40% of all international calls.

While Skype has since lost some of its audience to Microsoft Teams — particularly in the business context — and a significant portion of its market share to Zoom, it still maintained an average of 40 million daily users as of 2020.

Founded in 2003 by Swedish entrepreneur Niklas Zennström and Danish entrepreneur Janus Friis, Skype held its first public trial in August of that year. By 2005, the company was acquired by eBay for $2.5 billion. In 2009, a portion of Skype was resold to Silver Lake, Andreessen Horowitz, and the Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board for $1.9 billion, giving the company a market valuation of $2.75 billion.

Microsoft acquired Skype in 2011 for $8.5 billion, making it a division of Microsoft with its former CEO Tony Bates reporting to then-Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer.

Following the acquisition, Microsoft integrated Skype into its product lineup, discontinuing Windows Messenger in favor of the Skype client, which became the default messaging service in Windows 8.1. By 2013, Skype was available across multiple platforms, including Windows, macOS, iPadOS, iOS, Android, and BlackBerry.

Skype was once a telecommunications industry disruptor

By offering free voice and video calls between Skype users globally, it effectively undercut traditional telecommunications providers that charged hefty fees for international calls. This disruptive technology approach that Skype took paid dividends in terms of the platform's immense popularity, especially in regions where long-distance calling was prohibitively expensive.

Instead of paying telecommunications companies long-distance rates, the only fee you'd incur would be the internet data that Skype used for your audio or video call. Skype also offered low rates for calls to landlines and cellphones.

Through its North American subscription plan, you could get 2,000 minutes of calling for $5.94/month – or the equivalent of about 0.297 cents per minute; if you go over 2,000 minutes, the rate goes to $0.35/minute. For US only calls, a 2,000 minute plan costs just $2.54 with extra time costing only $0.15/minute.

Skype's advantages and disadvantages

Despite no longer being the industry leader in terms of market share, Skype is still a capable free solution for video and audio calls.

Unlike the free version of Zoom, Skype doesn't have a 30 minute time limit. Additionally, in 2023 Microsoft integrated Bing AI with Skype, allowing users to converse with it in a private chat or mention it in group chats and ask it questions; you can even ask it to help plan vacation destinations or generate jokes.

However, Microsoft has clearly prioritized other tech like Microsoft Teams at the expense of Skype over the years.

In 2015, Skype for Business replaced Lync as Microsoft's business communication solution. In 2017, Microsoft announced plans to replace Skype for Business with Microsoft Teams, with its official retirement occurring in July 2021.

Where Zoom and Teams pull away from Skype is less in the one-on-one context and more in business centric contexts where you might have more than 50 people – the maximum size Skype supports – on a single call. Skype also does not have breakout room functionality like what you see with Zoom.

How to use Skype

Once you've downloaded Skype to your computer or mobile device, you can make a new Skype call through desktop or mobile by opening the Skype app and clicking New call or Start a call.

You can add contacts to Skype or invite people to join Skype by navigating to the Contacts tab and clicking New Contact and searching for the person via their Skype name, phone number, email, or full name.

How to delete your Skype account

If you, too, are gravitating towards platforms like Zoom or Teams rather than Skype, you might be wondering how to delete your Skype account.

Since your Skype account is tied into your Microsoft account, it is not possible to close your Skype account without closing your entire Microsoft account. If you want to proceed, you can close your Microsoft account by visiting the Microsoft account closure page, signing in, and selecting either 30 or 60 days from the dropdown, clicking Next, and following Microsoft's prompts.

How to change your Skype name

Your Skype name itself cannot be changed, however, you change your account's display name.

Start by clicking on your Skype profile picture, then select Skype profile and click the pencil icon to edit the display name and make your changes.