In March of 2008, at age 60, I lost my job of 5 years that we moved halfway across the country to take. Six months later, my wife, aged 59, also lost her job. I had been working as an engineer at General Motors and my wife was an administrative assistant for an auto parts maker, so we took a hit from the auto industry's collapse.
We've been dutifully searching for employment to no avail.
We are convinced we're the victims of age discrimination. We both had outstanding careers in our respective chosen fields and had a long-term plan that included working until age 66. Now, the combination of our pension, Social Security and taking money from our 401(k) gets us to an income level that's half what it was when we worked. We're just kind of limping along.
We both are in good health and have 80 years of experience between us to offer. Although we each have a pension and some 401(k) funds, we have to start taking Social Security in order to make ends meet. It deeply saddens us to be in this position, but we have no choice.
NEXT: Richard W. Hayman, 65
