SeniorTruth

I have recently received letters and e-mails about the difficulties and frustrations in finding employment, particularly if you are a “bit older.”
Therefore, this week I would like to share a newly published report by David DeLong, commissioned by the MetLife Mature Marketing Institute,  titled,  “Buddy, Can You Spare a Job?”  The title is a takeoff [...]

Work experiences can serve as a starting point in creating that next chapter of life.  James Birren, the founder and former dean and executive director of USC’s Ethel Percy Andrus Gerontology Center said it well, “You don’t know where you are going if you don’t know where you have been.”

Question: As a young retiree (56 years old and female) I am at a point of considering which way to go in my life.  Can you address some of the issues of being a young retiree?  We don’t exactly fit in with a lot of retiree and senior-citizen groups, but we do have things [...]

Question: I have been reading a lot about seniors working in retirement.  As a 72-year old educated woman with lots of skills, what do I need to understand about this new time?  I may need to return to work.  

Question: As a successful engineer, program manager and expert witness, I have always experienced excitement and pleasure from work throughout my life.  This past January, as a 70-year old woman, I decided to take a sabbatical (also known as retirement) from my consulting practice.  It has taken me eight months to clear my desk.  [...]

Question: I am a full-time working woman in my early 70s, with gray hair and a rather robust figure. I feel that my young female office mates in their 30s and 40s are somewhat patronizing. When I wear something they consider fashionable, they make a big fuss – too big a fuss. I also feel [...]

Question: I just retired from a law practice and love every minute of my new freedom.  The daily tennis games, books groups and lunch with friends make this time of life just terrific.  My problem is that my husband, a small-business owner, won’t discuss any part of retirement.  He has made no plans and just [...]

This is one of those times when I come across a project that I believe is relevant to successful aging.  The subject is age and work.  The project is “Tapping Mature Talent,” a national effort to provide career and work opportunities for those 55 and older.  I am providing some training/education for the project. 

Question: I am disturbed by the lack of choices for birthday cards. I tried to buy a card for my 75-year-old friend and found most of the cards in poor taste and not very funny. I am 72 and certainly do not feel old or look like anyone on those cards. At what point do [...]

Question: I am 73 happily married to my 80-year old husband who has some physical limitations.  Our home where we have lived for 40 years is multilevel with 10 stairs to enter the front door.  I know we will have to move to a smaller one-story place as soon as the real estate market changes. [...]