Allyn I Freeman - ReWORKing Retirement: A Practical Guide for Seniors Returning to Work

Reworking
Retirement

A Practical Guide for Retirees
Returning to the Workplace

ALLYN I.FREEMAN AND ROBERT E.GORMAN

Copyright 2008 by Allyn I. Freeman and Robert E. Gorman
All rights reserved.

This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher; exceptions are made for brief excerpts used in published reviews.

Published by Adams Business, an imprint of
Adams Media, an F+W Publications Company
57 Littlefield Street, Avon, MA 02322. U.S.A.
www.adamsmedia.com

ISBN-10: 1-59869-213-5
ISBN-13: 978-1-59869-213-6
eISBN: 978-1-5986-9213-6

Printed in the United States of America.

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Contents

Acknowledgments

Our writing on this vast topic owes much to the many people we interviewed. We sought out experts in academia, human resources professionals, administrators of volunteer organizations, and businesspeople. In addition, we tapped old friends from high school, college, and our neighborhoods for personal stories and anecdotes. Lets mention all those who were so helpful.

Professionals and Experts

William Brisk, Fellow of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys; Professor Marcie Pitt-Catsouphes at The Center on Aging and Work at Boston College; Josephine Smith; Lisa Mark; Kathleen Shelby; Bob Moore; Steven Berkenfeld; Carol Taffet; Martin Taffet; Mardee Cavallaro; Fran Panasci; Diane Brannen; Rick Consodine; Ernie DelMonico; Jack Crowley; Doug Fielding; Tom Pastorus; Ann Miller Patch; Patricia Dore, Angelo Sinisi; Paul Piccone; and Joe Frank.

Stories

Carrie Rosenthal, Bob Moore, Ernie DelMonico, Angelo Sinisi, Doug Fielding, Ann Miller Patch, Pat Holt Clarkson, David Moore, Gene Hicks, Gia Campos, Richard Lewis, Ann Driscoll, Tom Hetherington, Robert Greber, Harvey Stick, Mike Herman, Arthur Solomon, Jon Prusmack, Sam Marrone, John Hoffen, Jess Marlow, Julie Thacher Plummer, Karen Kolbert, Karen Goodman, Rudy Marzano, Rod McGarry, Royal Bruce Montgomery, Dave Poster, Ron Clifford, Rita Montequin, Dr. Dick Sebastian, Bob Wasky, Ed Wepprect, Finbarr Murphy, and Don Freedman.

Family and Friends

Dr. James Hunt, Ann Gorman, Rob and Laura Dingman, John and Linda Fullylove, Jason and Amy Weaver, Alison Gorman, Dick and Jane Erdtmann, Susan Faux Lewis, Cynthia Jenner, Janice Lee, Jeff Chase, Edward Last, Arthur Anderson, Charles Clarkson, Claudia Craig, Deb Green, William Rosenthal, Christine and Steven Rhodes, Marcia Shrock, Ruth Marzano, Maria Allende Brisk, Ella Kelley, Grace Anne Starkey, Steven Gross, Jane Monaghan Marrone, Pat Barry, Graham Graham, Margaret Intrator, Basil da Cano, and to the loving memory of Jo-Ann Wasserman.

Publishing

Also, many heartfelt thanks to Jill Alexander and Peter Archer at Adams Media, who vetted the project and were helpful throughout the process with suggestions and improvements. And to our agent, Ruth Mills, whose help and guidance crafted the work from beginning to end.

Introduction

Live long and prosper.
Mr. Spock

You are age fifty-five or sixty or sixty-five. Maybe you planned well for retirement. Maybe you did not. Or maybe you do not want to think about retirement because you believe that the word doesnt affect you today. Or maybe it does apply but you do not want to face that reality. Maybe you planned well for retirement but your company reneged on the promised pension. Or perhaps your company said no more medical benefits.

Or your plans worked out fine but retirement isnt the joy and delight you anticipated. Money seems to be flowing out. Time hangs heavy. What to do? You have a long life ahead. How are you going to pay for itthe food, the rent, the vacations, the medical bills? The everything? What plans outside of playing golf and bridge do you have to make every day more enjoyable and productive?

Will social security payments, which you cant start to take until age sixty-two, be enough? And Medicare doesnt kick in for you until age sixty-five. If you are fifty-five now and not working, what will you do until then to cover health insurance and medical payments? Perhaps you will run short of money to cover the necessities. Other than pension, savings, or social security, there are no other sources of income.

Perhaps you are bored out of your mind, and every day looks like the last one. Are you sleeping later and going to bed earlier to shorten a dreary day?

Theres one terrific solution for people older than fifty: return to work or find new work.

Note that we did not say to get a full-time job, although that is an option, and we did not say to go out and find a new career.

Were talking about remunerative jobs that you can work at about twenty or thirty hours a weekmore time if you want to, more hours if you need to.

It is easy, if you know how and what to look for.

It is easy, if you know how to access information and facts.

It is easy, if you do some short-term and long-term planning.

It is easy, if you understand what it is you are looking for.

We know about looking for work, and were going to share that information with you in this book. ReWorking Retirement is the definitive guide and one-stop resource for helping you overcome the difficult emotional and business-related obstacles of looking for and finding suitable and rewarding work.

Weve made the book easy to read and easy to follow, with practical advice given in each chapter. This book should become your starting place on the vital topic of work because:

1. We are skilled professionals and knowledgeable businesspersons in our late sixties who have experienced firsthand the existing problems of finding and taking on new work assignments.

2. The chapters address the concerns of those people fifty and older who are attempting to search for work opportunities. The experienced advice inside the chapters offers you a real-world range of programs, lists, Web sites, and solutions.