Goodbye to Working Years
Friday, July 18th, 2008I have seen it happen all too often in the recent past and I don’t know if it will ever end. The older employees who have just about reached the top of their salary level begin to get weeded out and replaced by the younger employees that will do the job for about half. If at all possible, do not let this happen to you without being financially prepared for it. I did not think I would be prepared but I am surviving and you will too.
If you still have a mortgage, get that thing paid off if you possibly can or have alternative living arrangements for yourself – even a roommate would help. Hopefully, you have a 401k plan that you have been investing in or a retirement plan of some kind. Be sure to find out the best method of switching it over to an IRA or the like so that you will not be hit hard by taxes.
If you are nearing early retirement age (62), seriously consider taking advantage of your Social Security benefits. The monthly amount will be less (I think maybe 25%??), but if you multiply the amount you will receive yearly by the number of years until you could take full retirement (66 for me), you will find that it would take you many, many years at full retirement to make up for those few years of early retirement benefits. Make sense?
If you are one of those 55+ employees, it would be wise to just check in to basic health insurance. And be sure you can get coverage for pre-existing conditions. As it turns out, it is not nearly as expensive as I had feared and just knowing the facts (and adding a little for inflation) goes a long way as far as your peace of mind.
There are dozens of things you need to “just check out” for yourself before you actually retire. So do yourself a favor and check it all out now in case you find yourself sliding toward that door out of the work place. It may not be a walk in the park, but you can do it too. I have not looked back.