WORLD> America
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WORLD> America
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Economic slump delays ride into retirement sunset for US seniors
(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-10-27 06:31 Evelyn Thomson, 55, and her husband, 65, settled in Pikeville, Kentucky, to live out their retirement days. But with the cost of living on the rise, the 2,500 dollars a month from her husband's pension fund -- built up during 38 years working at a large US automobile manufacturer -- doesn't go far and the couple has had to tighten their belts, and ride back out of the retirement sunset and into the workplace. "We don't eat out, we don't go anywhere, don't do anything," Evelyn Thomson said. "My husband works full-time at Wal-Mart and it's still very, very tight. I need to find a job and make as much as I can, but with everyone looking for work, that's hard," said Thomson, a licensed social worker and substance abuse therapist. Marylin Peabody of Billerica, Massachusetts, was laid off in June and is looking for a job as an accountant. As the financial crash continues to sweep US and global stock markets -- in which a large chunk of Americans' retirement savings are invested -- Peabody has watched helplessly as almost 10 percent of her pension fund was wiped out. "My 401 K (retirement savings account) took a drop -- I lost 5,000 dollars out of 60,000," she said. "I can't afford not to work," the 55-year-old said. |
