Economic Situation and Retirement
May 13, 2009 1:51 p.m. PST
Our current economic situation is hurting almost everyone. It is especially hurting people near retirement or already retired because we don’t have years of earning power to recover losses. Many people have seen their retirement earnings decrease by 50% or more. In addition to people who have voluntarily retired, many people in the 55 to 65 age group have been laid off. That could potentially impede their plans for retirement. For those people lucky enough to have not been hurt by the economic downturn, please disregard the rest of this article. Otherwise, the best things you can do are to reduce your expenses and increase your income. If you are “involuntarily” retiring due to lay off, you will have a little unemployment insurance to help as you find another job. If you have been retired for a while and don’t have recent work experience, your job search will be different. If you are able to reduce your discretionary expenses by 15%, a modest income can solve the problems associated with the retirement savings you lost in the last year. This article will discuss ways which may help to increase your income.
Like most successful people, you have worked hard your entire adult life to support your family and establish a good lifestyle for them. You are probably looking forward to retirement as a time to rest and pursue your hobbies and other interests. Perhaps your retirement plans include travel, rather than going back to the rat race. It’s important to look for ways to modestly increase your income that will bring you happiness. Do you have any hobbies that you can use to increase your income? For example, do you have a collection, such as stamps or coins that you can sell? Would you like to work part-time in a stamp or coin shop? If you are an artist and like to paint, you might try selling some of your paintings at an art fair. If you like to knit, perhaps you can sell some of your creations at a local craft fair. If you like to write, you might want to try freelance writing (www.gofreelance.com). Other examples of part-time activities that will modestly increase your income, without a lot of stress include: cross-walk guard, dog walker, Walmart greeter, child care or babysitting, elder care or companionship, tutoring, handy-man, census taker, gardener/landscaper, Peace Corps or work part-time at Starbucks (they provide medical insurance for their employees). Other possibilities include: garage sales, renting a room in your home, or applying for a reverse mortgage. (A reverse mortgage can be risky, so it’s best to get advice.)
Part-time jobs may not pay a lot of money, but they have the potential to provide a lot of joy and make a big difference in your quality of life. Say “good-bye” to your high stress job and follow your passion.
There are many wonderful websites to help “mature” people find work. The American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) offers a lot of information on many retirement topics. AARP also has a job search engine at http://jobs.aarp.org and offers job training and placement through its AARP Foundation Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP).
For the more adventurous, a website worth looking at is www.CoolWorks.com. This website has many seasonal jobs at national parks, resorts, camps, cruises and so on. There are positions throughout the United States, as well as Internationally, for people who are “older and bolder”. This could be a fun way to have an extended vacation while earning money.
For those who have been retired for awhile, a useful website is www.retirementjobs.com. This website has advice including: preparing your resume, searching for a job and learning interviewing skills. It also has a job search engine; there is a small monthly fee for this website.
A similar website is www.workforce50.com. This website is free to job seekers and provides instructions on how to post your resume and search for jobs.
Here are additional employment related sites, geared towards retirees, provided by the Retirement Living Information Center:
Jobs4.0 is the leading source of job opportunities for candidates 40 and over. They seek out jobs offered by companies that value diversity of experience. The organization works only with select companies, which embrace the unique benefits that a more experienced worker can provide. Its mission is to post job opportunities that are open to workers of all ages.
This organization connects both retiring and retired workers with employers, providing information on charitable organizations and non-profits looking for senior volunteers.
A senior job site with an International focus. It was established to act as an intermediary between the retired worker with experience (the dinosaurs) and the people who need them (the dinosaur hunters).
This site is an online recruitment resource, which seeks to bring together employers searching for mature workers (age 50 and over) and older Americans looking for rewarding employment. It lists jobs for older workers, including occasional, part-time, temporary, flexible and full-time opportunities.
Monster.com, in partnership with AARP, provides this job search site, which utilizes keywords, job category and location search functions, in order to help job seekers find the best opportunities to utilize their skills.
Senior Employment Resources is a job placement service, that matches companies with job seekers, age 50 and over ,who live in the Northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C. It is a nonprofit that receives some funding from Fairfax County, Va.
This site is aimed at retired Federal, State, and local Government employees, who choose to remain productive in their professions or fields of expertise. Many of whom would like to work in the private sector.
This company recruits retired scientists, engineers and product developers, who are available to solve problems on a short-term basis, for member and non-member companies. Retirees are employed by Your Encore and are provided all the administrative, marketing, and accounting support they need, thereby allowing them to focus on solutions. The company seeks to enroll recently-retired and/or highly-experienced experts who are scientists, engineers, product developers, market research experts, quality control and quality assurance experts, medical professionals, and business development managers. Your Encore takes charge of presenting retiree skills, talents and experiences to best address the needs of prospective companies.
The Phoenix Link is a not-for-profit group, which offers free services for re-careering executives and technologists. The company's primary focus is connecting experienced executives and technologists with interim and full-time management positions. It works hand-in-hand with professional recruitment/staffing firms and assists exceptional individuals in transition. The positions are not restricted to older workers.
Bridgestar is an advisory and executive search firm, whose website lists senior positions in non-profit organizations. It reports that over the next decade, non-profit organizations will need to attract 640,000 new "senior leaders," which is equal to about 2.4 times the number of executives currently working in the nonprofit sector. The positions are not restricted to older workers.
This organization is a non-profit job search firm, dedicated to helping today's most effective social entrepreneurs hire the best talent. Founded by non-profit professionals, Commongood Careers offers personalized, engaged services to job seekers and organizations throughout the hiring process, as well as access to a wealth of knowledge about careers in the social sector.
This organization offers job listings in non-profit organizations. You can search by keyword and other vast criteria. The positions are not restricted to older workers.
This site was designed by www.CareerBuilder.com to serve the needs of 50+ workers, seeking to connect with employers who want to tap into the knowledge and skills they have to offer. It provides help for those looking for part-time, full-time or contract positions. It also has information about job searching, career management and workplace issues.
Other Resources
This wide-ranging website, run by the AARP offers advice and information on finding a job. It is not limited to retirees or seniors; its resources can be valuable to anyone. One of the resources is its Career One-Stop Center, where you can find many resources you need in order to assist in the search for a new job. It also has information about its National Employer Team. In this program, AARP has collaborated with companies that appreciate the talent which mature workers bring to a job. The companies are selected after a screening process, and must assure AARP that they want to recruit and keep mature workers. Each company has different jobs available which require different skills. Each has a different application process and offer different benefits. Some want full-time workers, while some hire seasonal workers. Others are looking for part-time workers year round. To help you with your job search, there is a web page for each company with basic information about the company, its hiring needs, and some of its benefits. If you're interested in applying, there's a link to each company's special AARP career page, where you'll find more details and information on how to apply for available jobs.
AARP offers job training and placement through its AARP Foundation Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP) . This program is available to help job seekers improve their skills, obtain training, and find a job. If you're age 55 or over, and meet the income guidelines, it can help you enter, or re-enter, the job market.
New Directions provides career transition services exclusively for senior-level executives, professionals, as well as their families. It helps workers find and create opportunities that not only meet their near-term career expectations and needs, but also advance their long-term work and life goals. For Baby Boomers seeking alternatives to passive retirement, now or in a few years, New Directions helps them develop a balance of part-time work with other meaningful activities. These might include family and leisure time, continued learning, teaching or "giving back."
Americans over age 55 have a lifetime of experience to share and may have a desire to make a real difference in their world. They've managed households, been business owners and nurses, farmers and salespeople, artists and executives. Now they are ready to put their unique talents and expertise to work in their communities, and enrich their own lives in the process.
Senior Corps connects today's over 55's with the people and organizations that need them most. It helps them become mentors, coaches or companions to people in need, or contribute their job skills and expertise to community projects and organizations.
Conceived during John F. Kennedy's presidency, Senior Corps currently links more than 500,000 Americans to service opportunities. Their contributions of skills, knowledge, and experience make a real difference to individuals, non-profits, and faith-based and other community organizations throughout the United States.
Senior Corps offers several ways to get involved. Volunteers receive guidance and training so they can make a contribution that suits their talents, interests, and availability.
- The Foster Grandparent Program connects volunteers, age 60 and over, with children and young people with exceptional needs. Volunteers mentor, support, and help some of the most vulnerable children in the United States.
- The Senior Companion Program brings together volunteers, age 60 and over, with adults in their community, who have difficulty with the simple tasks of day-to-day living. Companions help out on a personal level, by assisting with such things as, shopping and light chores, interacting with doctors, or just making a friendly visit.
- RSVP connects volunteers, age 55 and over, with service opportunities in their communities, which best match their skills and availability. From building houses, to immunizing children, from enhancing the capacity of non-profit organizations, to improving and protecting the environment, RSVP volunteers put their unique talents to work to make a difference.
Senior Corps is a program of the Corporation for National and Community Service, an independent federal agency created to connect Americans of all ages and backgrounds with opportunities to give back to their communities and their nation.
SCORE, "Counselors to America's Small Business," is a non-profit association, dedicated to entrepreneur education and the formation, growth and success of small businesses nationwide. With more than 10,500 volunteer counselors, it provides individual counseling and business workshops for aspiring entrepreneurs and small business owners.
For seniors, SCORE's insightful and practical resources can help you build a small business from the ground up. Counselors work with you through every phase of the entrepreneurial venture: generating and assessing ideas, preparing a business plan, raising capital and managing the operations and finances of the growing venture.
The SCORE Association was formed in 1964. Since that time it has assisted more than 7.7 million Americans with online and face-to-face small business counseling.
Books
Portfolio Life: The New Path to Work, Purpose and Passion After 50
Portfolio Life offers a compelling alternative to the standard transitions to retirement. Life between the ages of 50 and 75 are the years that were once relegated to "winding down," or retirement. This book proves they may be among the most productive and passionate of a leader's life. Portfolio Life is a groundbreaking guide for mid-life professionals, providing real-world stories, how-to advice, and inspiration for creating a new approach to life during this critical time. Introducing the idea of a "life portfolio," the book shows the reader how to divide one's time and energy among competing needs and personal dreams. They include advice on anti-retirement, the entrepreneurial spirit, emotional minefields, happiness and spirituality, and more. The author is David D. Corbett, founder and CEO of New Directions (in Boston) - a career services company for senior executives. To order this book from Amazon, click here.
Don't Retire, REWIRE
Working in retirement is quickly becoming one of the fastest growing career trends, considering that a 1998 AARP survey of over 2,000 adults, age 33-52, found that 80% say they plan to work at least part-time during retirement. The last thing retirees are looking for is the same thing they've been doing all their lives. They are looking for work situations that are mentally and emotionally rewarding. Don't Retire, REWIRE will help readers to not only define what kind of work is best suited for their passions and interests, but guide them through the process of obtaining such work -- whether it's a part time job, volunteer work, or a second career. In addition to the practical how-to content, this book combines the stories and lessons of real-life retirees with original research based on more than 300 original interviews. To order from Amazon, click here.
Encore: Finding Work That Matters in the Second Half of Life
This book reports on one of the most significant social trends of the new century, and the biggest transformation of the American workforce since the Women's Movement. Author Marc Freedman says that members of the Baby Boom Generation are inventing a new phase of work. If the golden years dream was freedom from work, the dream of this new wave is freedom to work - in new ways, on new terms, to new and even more important ends. To order from Amazon, click here.
Job Hunting: Your Guide to Success
This book, published by the AARP, contains the resources to help you make informed decisions about employment and second careers. It covers such topics as choosing a career, finding a job, alternative work arrangements, age discrimination, balancing work and care-giving, and self-employment. The book is free and can be ordered by clicking here, or by calling 888-687-2277 and requesting publication D18247.
The Wall Street Journal Complete Retirement Guidebook
Few life events can create as much satisfaction -- or anxiety -- as retirement, and this book from the experts at The Wall Street Journal, provides advice on everything from money mechanics to lifestyle choices. Whether you see yourself traveling, opening a business, being employed, volunteering or returning to school, The Wall Street Journal Complete Retirement Guidebook can help you tailor your financial plan to the way you plan to spend your retirement years. The book teaches you:
- What decisions to make and which steps to take ten years, five years and one year before leaving full-time work.
- How to translate your interests into daily activities.
- Tips for investing wisely and working with the right financial adviser.
- How to maximize your benefits from Social Security and Medicare.
It answers your biggest question, "how big does my nest egg need to be?," by linking it to your particular hopes for how you want to spend your days in retirement. After all, it's impossible to know whether you've saved enough money without knowing how you want to fill your days. For all its changes and challenges, a well-planned retirement could very well be the best years of your life.
The book was written by Glenn Ruffenach and Kelly Greene. Ruffenach developed and now edits "Encore," The Wall Street Journal's bi-monthly guide to retirement planning and living. Greene has covered retirement planning since 2001 as a staff reporter at The Wall Street Journal, where she works for "Encore" and writes a weekly retirement column. To order a copy from Amazon, click here.
The New Retirement -- The Ultimate Guide to the Rest of Your Life (Second Edition)
This book is a comprehensive guide to planning for retirement. It can help the reader to decide where to live, what to do, when to do it, and more. When the first edition was published in 2004, it became a best seller among people planning their retirement. It wasn't long before the authors, Jan Cullinane and Cathy Fitzgerald, realized that they would need a second edition that would include the latest research, emerging locations and communities, up-to-date financial information, and new anecdotes from people who are "walking the walk."
The book contains information on 50 specific communities/areas/lifestyles within the U.S. Each location has information on who the major employers are, as well as the unemployment rate. A very useful appendix is loaded with forms and worksheets that can help you to decide what you want out of your retirement and whether you should relocate or not. The book also contains a wealth of resources (websites and publications) to help you make important decisions. To order a copy from Amazon, click here.
I hope you will find this information insightful and informative, as you consider transitioning from Working to Retirement.
Mark Halsey
Staff Writer at Wealth Analytics
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