Marina : Social Security Payments The Choice For More And More 62-63 Year Olds: View From A

Private Duty Caregiver Serving, Carmel, Carmel-by-the-Sea, Marina, Monterey, Pacific Grove, Pebble
Beach, Salinas & Seaside, California

The economic downturn has caused many seniors to scramble to find work, as many of them
have been laid off in favor of younger, less expensive labor, or their jobs have been outsourced abroad.
Still others have tried to come out of retirement after watching their stock portfolios and home value
disintegrate. Unfortunately, the outlook is fairly bleak. Peter Honig, 53, was interviewed for an article on
the subject in the Monterey County Herald May 30 and said that after getting laid off three years ago he
conducted a yearlong job search in which he failed to get even a single interview. He went to an alumni
event and realized that every person over the age of 50 were unemployed. Some have better luck than
others. The New York Times on Sunday had an article by a man named Don Spivak, who was offered an
early retirement plan last year from the Community Redevelopment Agency of the City of Los Angeles
after 28 years. They were reducing head count by 20% so he took the package, not wanting to risk being
laid off. Three weeks later, the CEO of the Redevelopment Agency called him back and asked if he
would like a contract as a consultant. The agency had laid off too many people too fast and there hadn't
been time to train new people in all of the duties the people who left had done. He now works 15-20
hours per week and largely dictates his own schedule, and spends some of his spare time doing
volunteer work. "The way it has worked out goes to show that you shouldn't look at change as
necessarily negative. You may find opportunities you weren't expecting," he wrote. Those approaching
retirement need to have back up plans to keep busy, whether it's paid work or volunteer. Finding a job
isn't easy once you hit 50. One reason older workers aren't finding work is that more and more
companies are relying on social media to advertise for positions, but only 13% of unemployed workers
over 55 use Facebook, LinkedIn and other networking sites, according to the 2010 report entitled "The
New Unemployables published by the Sloan Center on Aging & Work at Boston College. But the larger
reason is cost--older workers are likely to demand higher wages because of their experience. Costs to
the company for medical premiums could also be higher if more older workers are employed. This
outlook has caused more seniors to opt for early retirement. From 2007 to 2009, the number of 63-year-
olds filing early for Social Security leaped nearly 20% according to the Center for Labor Market Studies
(CLM) at Northeastern University. Among 62-year olds, it was up 42%. CLM Director Andrew Sum said
that not only are these senior's collecting less money than they would if they waited until full retirement
age to file for Social Security, they are not paying taxes on employment income. And they are more likely
to apply for other government aid because they are getting less than a full pension. "Throwing these
older workers out of the labor market comes at a very high cost," he said. Statistics also show that older
people who actually are employed are staying on the job longer than they used to. In 1995, only 12% of
people surveyed in a Gallup Poll said they planned on working past 65. By 2010, that number had nearly
tripled to 34%. I own a private duty caregiving company which serves Monterey County called Family
inHome Caregiving, and I see Clients on a daily basis which are struggling to make ends meet. With all
of the State and Federal budget cuts to programs helping the elderly, it's getting tougher and tougher for
seniors which are on a tight budget to get by. With the huge burst of baby boomers which are expected
to retire, those with a job are likely to try and keep it as long as possible, while those without one may
have to bite the bullet and take an early retirement with a lower Social Security check.

http://www.montereyherald.com/local/ci_18170278?source=rss

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/29/jobs/29pre.html

About Richard Kuehn & Family inHome Caregiving of Monterey:

After more than a decade of caregiving, both in a professional environment and for a 97 year old family
member Richard Kuehn was dissatisfied with service from local caregiving agencies. He became
convinced of the need for a service which provides very personal assistance to the elderly and founded
Family inHome Caregiving serving the Monterey Peninsula. Please visit his blog where he talks about
important senior issues at:
http://www.familyinhomecaregiving.com/Blog