2 days ago
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
A Hidden Aspect of Late-Career Job Loss
'Late-Career Job Loss Blurs Retirement' (Personal Journal, July 8) sheds light on the financial outcomes of people who lost their white-collar jobs later in life. Those with substantial retirement accounts and considerable assets that eased their transition to retirement are a uniquely privileged group. We have interviewed those who were financially unscathed and those who had a bumpier ride but possessed enough personal resources to weather late-career job loss.
A third group had a much different experience. Prolonged unemployment or back-to-back job losses diminished their financial standing to the extent that even such basic necessities as housing, food and medical expenses became difficult to afford. When we conducted follow-up interviews a decade later, in 2023, those who initially encountered financial difficulties reported a diminished quality of life in their retirement years. Late-career job loss may produce significant hardship at a stage when hiring practices mean that older unemployed workers sometimes have no choice but to withdraw from the labor force regardless of their financial preparations for retirement.
