Social Security--Retirement--Jobs--Entrepreneurship--Unemployment Statistics

Social Security, established to assure some income during retirement years, is becoming an even more important resource in this new economy.  Unemployment statistics are not very accurate.  Many people eligible for early retirement have found themselves out of work--many for more than a year.  More than that, most have exhausted their state's unemployment benefits and are still not finding jobs that paid the kind of salaries they were earning before they left their previous employment.

Many are becoming "semi-retired"--taking early retirement and continuing to look for work--or, more importantly, finally becoming entrepreneurs.  It appears that this may be becoming the norm.  The "new economy" and the new jobs do not appear to be helping people born between 1943 and 1960--the group of people eligible for early retirement at 62 and who attain "full retirement age" on their birthday at age 66.

A recent article from Abby M. Locke and  TheLadders.com was entitled, "Facing Age Discimination as Young as 40"  The article went on to talk about the difficulty in "the new economy" for people 40 and above to find the kinds of jobs they are looking for.

Many in the 40+ age group have advanced degrees and have held high-paying positions in the job market.  Unfortunately, many may have expenses that match the income they are used to receiving.  It may take some time for adjustments to be made.

Social Security is designed to be flexible for early retirees who plan to continue bringing in income.  They have to report their income to Social Security and their benefits may be temporarily reduced when they earn over the limits set by Social Security until they reach "full retirement age."  In general, if there have been any benefit reductions due to earned income, those benefits will be restored after the person achieves full retirement age.

The good news for soon-to-be entrepreneurs is that Social Security will help cover expenses as we begin to grow our fledgling businesses.  We may need to take one or more contract, temporary, part-time, or lower-paying jobs than we are used to to bring in additional income and, depending on the economy and the areas we are focusing on in our entrepreneurship, we can soon be generating quality and sustaining income for our years of "semi-retirement."