Older Americans head back to work as cost of living rises 

More and more people might face a tough time in retirement. Low-paying jobs, inflation, and high rents make it hard to save. Now, middle-class Americans find it tough to own a home too, leaving them without a place to retire.

I retired in 2022, thinking $300k would be enough. But living on a fixed income with ongoing inflation is challenging. Every withdrawal makes it harder for my savings to grow through compounding interest. The thought of having to work again in retirement is really scary

Needing to go back to work in old age is one thing. Finding an employer that will hire you is another.

If this is happening to Boomers, with all the advantages they had, just think about what is in store for the generations younger than them. The future is getting dimmer by the day.

The cost of living seems to be increasing every year, making it harder to keep up.

So far I'm doing good, approaching retirement with about 800k in savings. Transitioning from building wealth to spending can be scary, especially with soaring inflation. My question is, after maxing out my tax-advantaged retirement accounts, what next?

Are we really going to ignore the fact that the wealth of the richest people has multiplied in the very same period?

Sickening that a country allows this to happen.

I'm about to turn 70 and just returned to work as an RN. I work home care for near drowning children on ventilators and tube feedings. They can't find nurses working for this population, I was a Pediatric Hospice RN and Pediatric ER RN ages ago. I needed the income but actually love being an active RN again and caring for children that need me.

The Golden Girls was on point. Many women, and men, will be moving in together in their later years. This will not only combat the housing crisis but the loneliness epidemic as well.

You can't retire and still have a mortgage. The story should have mentioned this up front. Going back to work isn't as shocking if you still have a mortgage.

I am a boomer and retired. My generation was told over and over again to save for retirement. Many of them did not. They spent all their money on bigger homes, more expensive cars, vacations and gave money to their children hand over fist. I watched my spending closely during my working years and saved as much as I could. Social Security is going to take hair cut sometime around 2030 to 2033. Your benefit could be reduced from 20 to 25%. In most cases that is right around $500 per month. You are being told almost 10 years out. Once again no one is listing. Now is the time to set aside some money to generate $500 a month or close to it as you can get, so you're ready for the haircut. Americans in general live way beyond their means and have a spending problem, i pray that anyone who reads this will be successful in life too 🙏🙏🙏

I retired at the age of 62 years old and headed to the Philippines. Now, I have a nice comfortable retirement and can afford good food and utility bills.

I remember back when I was still in hs around 2016/2017 working in retail I had quite a few coworkers that were elderly and remember they wouldn’t even really get to sit down during times the store was slow. It really made me contemplate how hard things were getting to see these people still having to work at their age…

The Top 1% of Americans Have Taken $50 Trillion From the Bottom 90%-And That's Made the U.S. Less Secure.Sep 14, 2020

All part of the plan.

And the cost of living will never reduce and go back down. It may taper off, it may slow down but it will never go down. Welcome to the new America.

I'd be lucky enough if I could get a job at her age

Who says that Americans have to keep living in the United States?

this is disgusting 🤦🏻‍♂️🤦🏻‍♂️🤦🏻‍♂️

I've been totally and permanently disabled since 2001, what do folks like me do? Fixed income, VERY FIXED INCOME. What do we do if the checks stop coming? We are in serious trouble folks

It's especially sad to see someone who needs a walker for help in mobility having to work. There's no shame in using a walker - that's not my point. It's just that she should be in her comfortable home with her feet up not having to worry about $$.

Unfortunately my grandmother is in the same predicament. 74 years old, worked all her life but cant retire. Shes a RN and shes facing age discrimination at her job. Her boss wants her gone but she cant. If she retires she wont be able to pay her mortage. It's a scary existence and I hope in 40 years time Im not in the same position.

We should be helping our seniors instead of illegal immigrants

This is why I will be moving overseas. I rather be in a Third World country then be old with broken bones struggling to work just so I can eat and have a roof over my head. Cost of living in this country is caused by corporations and overspending by our Government. Enough is enough.

This is unacceptable. A 74 yr old retired teacher having to come out if retirement makes my blood boil.

She looks good for being 74

The greed of the rich and the corporations is not surprising. They are heartless sociopaths

Ten richest men double their fortunes in pandemic while incomes of 99 percent of humanity fall Published: 17th January 2022

I'm a 48-year-old doctor feeling burnt out from long hours and stress. I've never invested in a retirement portfolio because I've always believed the economy would collapse eventually. However, I plan to retire soon and I'm curious: If you had $100k to invest safely in stocks over 4-5 years to grow, how would you start?

I didn't become financially independent until I was in my late 30's, and I'm still in my 30's. In addition to having purchased my second home and earning money on a monthly basis through passive income, I've also achieved three out of five goals. I just hope this inspires someone to realize that it doesn't matter if you don't have any of these things yet, you can start today no matter your age. Change your future by investing! I made a rather big decision by investing in the financial market.

This is so dystopian.

Correction: Older Americans (with a mortgage) Can't Afford to Retire. Buckle down and pay that off in your working years.

It’s not safe to have a mortgage during retirement. Just paying the taxes is hard enough

Retirement is the biggest fairy tale ever told.

Everyone is talking about mortgage. You shouldn’t retire with a mortgage. Bro rent costs are right up there with mortgages. Whats the answer for people that want to retire but have to rent because they can’t afford a house

Even with an amazing 401k, future cost cannot never be predicted. The rise of 20 to 50% inflation in these past couple of years have hurt even the people that carefully saved for retirement.

No wonder a lot of retired citizens have moved out of the country to places like Ajijic Jalisco, Mexico, where the cost of living is way less than here in the US.

Why would you retire with a mortgage? And she's 74...

Complete misinformation. It was the death of pensions that cause this. Cost of living goes up every year. Most people are now only being supported on social security while businesses have done away with pensions and increased CEO pay. That is the economic fact.

This shouldn’t happen. Shame on the government for not taking care of our elderly first and giving the money to thw illegal migrants.

I'm 56 and I only have 8 years left to work as I'm planning to retire at 64. I look at my buckets of funds everyday to map out my monthly income. My social security check will be about $2800 a month, and I plan to draw $2K from my 401K until it's exhausted around 7yrs. That will put me at 70yrs old, then I will start drawing down on my IRA, which my projections say I should have $1Million dollars in that, if nothing falls apart in the next 10 years. I should be okay in retirement.

Extremely interesting and informative...Times are definitely challenging!! What I learned late in life is definitely live below your means......

I would rather be in the dirt

Any senior citizen who is able to get hired is a success. There is ageism in getting a job. Of course it is very sad our country lets the older generation struggle.

She is 74 and still has a mortgage??

Come to America!!!!!! Work till you’re dead and be poor the whole time!!!!!!!

She might have retired with a mortgage, because her spouse was alive and both could have afforded to cover. If she's a widow, the rules will have changed. Yes, she could have downsized into a smaller home, condo. But they are also evicting the disabled seniors from their apartments. Not cool. 😢

She could get a roommate to help pay the mortgage.

Sad many older Americans had their mortgages paidoff but then refinanced to help adult kids who promised to help pay it back (but didnt) or medical bills. Worked with refinanced mortgages for almost 17 years sad sight to see

Had to go back to work at age 72 - hate it.

During covid small businesses were closed. Big corporations allowed open. Support small businesses.

I can't see me going to stop and work I'm 61 and I don't even see retirement for the cost of living and I don't want to live with my daughter and I don't want to depend on everybody so I just keep working and thank God I'm able to work bless all the other older adults working we have to keep our independence

Yes, my 79-year-old-husband works three days a week at a big box store. This helps us to pay our property taxes, put extra money down on our mortgage principal and into savings for unexpected/unplanned expense (like a failing furnace, water heater. a/c repairs, our 2012 used vehicle repairs etc.) We long ago cut out any trips/vacations, Smartphone, cable TV, eating out so there is pretty much nothing left to cut out of our budget. Oh and by the way my IRA savings runs out in 8 years when I am age 80. Not sure how we will manage then....

The only way to make it nowadays, is if you bought your house prior to 2001 and are debt free. My mortgage is small (under $500) and I have zero debt, but when you add up all the basic costs, it is still about $20k per year, and then food and medical bills (which we all will face as we age) tends to make things very tight.

Wait a minute. She retired 12 years ago and still has a mortgage?? So that is a big part of the problem for Americans. DEBT. Whatever you do, do not think you can retire with a mortgage or other debt!!

They got people rushing at the Amazon warehouse where I pick up. That's all I'm going to say. Sometimes I think to myself I'd rather live in a country where people just take their time. Things are slower but people aren't distressed out and uptight

Sad to see this happening more often. At the minimum, they don’t give up and try to be no one’s burden.

Its still better than korean grandmas. Pickings up cardboard.

I work at Lowe’s and we are at least half seniors!

We have no debt...no mortgage, car payments, loans, credit card debt. But if my wife, who is 61, were to lose her job, health insurance would be a major problem. She's had a stroke and has diabetes so not sure what that would do to the premium. Cost of all insurance is a major problem/burden, and cost of food is another, presuming you don't have the other bills from my first sentence. Because of senior tax breaks, property tax as an issue has lessened...

It doesn't matter how old you are. If you don't have a paid for house, and a chunk of money, you cannot retire. My dad retired at 85. That is life. He enjoyed his job and I think it kept his mind active. My brother and I are early 60's and know we probably can't ever retire. There are too many unknowns. - I think we need to take a hard look at retirement being a lifetime goal. Save for it, but keep working if you are able. Then you will not end up like this woman.

I thank god wife and I are leaving the country in a few years, retiring early 59.5 & 55. Take the money and run 💰🏃‍➡️

This generation had access to private industry jobs with pension plans galore, something rare today for new job seekers outside of government jobs. They didn't need the same level of education as today. A HS diploma was plenty, a bachelor's had the weight of two master degrees today, plus college was cheap anyway even adjusted for inflation. Homes in the 70s, 80s, and 90s were significantly cheaper even inflation adjusted as those were not yet seen as investment engines, just a necessity. Yet, these people didn't even bother to take care of their basic necessities, instead wasting their spending on other things they'll never talk about.

HOW disgusting that that elderly woman who is chronically ill walking on a walker, overweight, full of arthritis, is trying to figure out where her next dollar is gonna come from before she starves to death. Space space, only in America.

Pray for America.

No offense, but what is an elderly person doing with a MORTGAGE?! That thing should have been payed off in their 50s.

They about to pull themselves up by their bootstraps

Here in Canada, I receive pension benefits which include cost of living index which unfortunately isn’t equal to the annual inflation rate. The result is: I buy days old bread and deeply discounted meat. I don’t frequent Starbucks, no restaurant meals, eat fewer meals, etc.

And $$$ goes to foreign countries for wars and us Americans have to keep on truckin.'

I started smoking again. Problem solved.

People are facing a tough retirement. and it's even harder for workers to save due to low-paying jobs, inflation, and high rents. Now, middle-class Americans find it tough to own a home too, leaving them without a place to retire in.

Sadly a single women with a mortgage will have to have additional income. Maybe a roomate to share expenses with to lessen the cist of livjng .

I dont understand America

This says a lot about our country! The same is happening to my mother as well, so this tells me that I and many others need to prepare ourselves for what’s coming.

And they say you should have kids so they can care for you when you're old. This poor woman said she would be homeless if she couldn't pay her mortgage, horrible.

Pay your mortgage off before you retire! Do not get a new mortgage when you’re about to retire!

Where is her family? Can they help??

Property Taxes, Insurance cost , gas etc. are all causing this problem.

For many, you can only work as long as your health holds out. At that age health issues are worse.

With all the taxes we pay (payroll, utilities, registering vehicles, property taxes, county taxes, state taxes, Tax money the politicians send to every country etc etc) you would think this would not happen ... sad as hell

I'm just curious how she has a mortgage still at 74

It is very sad.

Let’s first talk about why someone would even retire with a mortgage.

Maybe its because their savings were devalued for years by the federal Reserves monetary policy. Bring back honest money Gold and Silver and i will promise people will retire earlier then 65. And prices on everything will go way down.

They'd have to deal with age discrimination

Teacher, no saving, pension, how is that possible??? 70yo still have a mortgage ?,? Hows that possible. I spent 10 yrs, 8 yrs , working hard to pay off my mortgage. No vacation, no fancy car. Clothes, jeelry, rtc. U didnt priority your money

Pray that I do not have to return to work.Pray harder.

Why is she still paying mortgage at 74? 😰

Meanwhile filthy rich 🤑 have gotten even richer!!!

Retirees have to look oversea to maximize their life saving and benefit. My parents moved back to their country solely to stretch their retirement. They are very comfortable living there despite disliking severe weather like flooding.

You only have your politicians to blame for enabling such reckless spending and diluting the spending power of your savings while jacking up taxes.

Because home ,care,and Medicare insurance has gone way up !!! Electricity cable groceries.

All apart of the elites plan

I was gonna retire, but yep, constant bills like rising real estate taxes, home fixes, and health bills have convinced me to stay on at work, but as part time vice full time.

Boomers are finding out that for the rest of us things are not easy.

American disabled veterans neeed decent compensation and better medical care nobody cares for us after disability

I am still looking for a job after being forced out from my job. It’s hard to find a job at my age over 60 and not eligible for social security either. I am glad that she found one.

This is HORRIBLE….. AMERICA 🇺🇸 is a Mess… about to retire a couple years….. thinking about moving overseas. Where it a lot cheaper and quality of life is better.

I think there is a time for us to enjoy the fruits of our labor. It’s a natural law but it is very sad when you can’t. But on another note, I’ve heard people who continue to be active later on in life live longer. It keeps the mind sharp by giving them something to do.