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DCL
My father lost nearly all of his 401k this past year with the recession. And he wasn't the only one. The Wall Street Journal recently had a spread that focused on retirees everywhere who have lost their nest eggs. We currently have the largest percentage of unemployed workers over age 55 since 1983. Whether or not our grandparents and parents alike want to go back to work in this economic crisis doesn't really matter—because they may have to no matter what.
Of course I wish I could just turn around and supply my father's retirement fund for him, but as a freelance writer in a recession—I can't. And I know a whole lot of other people who are in the same boat.
So what can we do for those in our lives who won't be able to retire as soon as they'd planned?
Do the green thing: Get them online.
One skill I find that I have, and my peers have, that my parents, and their parents, struggle with is the internet, generally speaking. Many older people aren't as savvy with the internet as young people are for obvious reasons—it didn't exist when they were growing up.
If someone in your life has to find a way to make money now, just when they were approaching retirement, help them do it through the internet. If we can keep the older generation from needing jobs that require driving back and forth each day, think of all the gas that will be saved! But that's just the beginning. Liquidating, for instance, is more green than letting items collect dust around the house and it might yield enough money to tie over the elders in your life.
So instead of watching someone in your life go back to whatever they used to do for work, help them get out there the green way. You don't have to be a web designer to get your mom's recipes online, for instance. Free blogs like Wordpress are a great start and hey, if it prospers enough, your mom might be able to pull in some advertising money. Your dad might have a garage full of items he doesn't use or want. Maybe he just needs some help getting them up for sale on Ebay or Craigslist in order to rake in some extra dough.
Increasing the internet presence of our elders might not position them into a telecommuting, greener job, but hey, it's one of the first steps
