How long will YOU work?

Diane Stafford, a columnist for The Kansas City Star, hones in on the work crisis facing 50-plus. Her article, titled "Retirement 'as-is' can't continue" was republished on Third Age's site under "How Long Will You Work?"

Her two questions:

How long do you want to work? How long will you be able to work?

isolate very well the major issues of boomer and beyond.
So...how long do you want to work?

Among the many issues are whether you want to work, whether you need to work (financially or emotionally), and what obstacles you are willing to overcome (ageism, downsizing, downgrading) in order to do so.

And...how long will you be able to work?

This is the real question. For those who want to work and need to work, they may have a bitter pill to swallow when they are shut out after 50 in a marketplace geared to youth. Plus, with aging, comes health concerns, doctor visits, higher medical costs, older children and possibly grandchildren to help with, limited retirement funds, lower level jobs.

I follow the news rigorously seeking the rumblings about over-50 employment. When I see an article, like Ms. Stafford's, I take notice. She is speaking in Kansas, but Washington needs to listen. When she talks about the white elephant in the room, she isn't speaking about social security. She is talking about us, the soon to be axed boomers and beyond, who will need to work at any cost in order to make it to our 80's and 90's with some dignity.

The Gen Plus resume search is on. If you are one of us and looking for work, take 15 minutes of your time to pop into http://www.genplususa.com/work.aspx and get your resume online. If you don't put yourself out there you won't likely get noticed.