Too Old to Rehire and Too Young to Retire

Workers over 50 are the new 'unemployables' according to CNN money.   According to the article, people over 50 are often considered over qualified or too highly paid when apply for jobs.  In addition, their 25 years of work experience is not an advantage versus applicants who have just graduated from college.  Unfortunately, most of the unemployed over 50 do not yet qualify for retirement with pensions and/or retiree health insurance.

After taking early retirement from my company at 49, I experienced  the unemployable issue for older workers. Despite my experience, I didn't receive any responses about positions comparable to those from which I retired. When I was applying for part time jobs, I noticed I was often not considered for positions when my education or experience made me over qualified.  Finally, I learned to down play education and experience. Then after getting a couple part time jobs, I stopped showing the job from which I retired on my resume.

We were luckier than most 50 year olds.  Although I was younger than typical retirement ages, our financial situation allowed us to consider the other choice of not working until a recognized retirement age.  We had sufficient funds for living expenses until I was 59 1/2, at which time we could make penalty free withdrawals from my retirement account.  In addition, I was able to get retiree health insurance from my company.  So we decided to take the retirement path, even though we were still "too young."

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This is not financial advice. Please consult a professional advisor.

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