this post was submitted on 26 Apr 2026
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[–] CompactFlax@discuss.tchncs.de 38 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

I feel sorry for people in this situation but I also wonder how many of them contribute to the current situation - after all, this guy is the tail end of the boomers. They spent their working life in financial security at the same company, and have a retirement plan and possibly a pension.

How many times did they vote to protect workers? How many times did they band together with coworkers who just wanted the same benefits? Etc.

[–] corsicanguppy@lemmy.ca 9 points 2 weeks ago

They spent their working life in financial security at the same company, and have a retirement plan and possibly a pension.

You assume a lot about People, Companies, Safety-nets and Opportunity. If he's merely 60, he will have been working only 5 years until the 1985 swing toward Office Space-style cubes and soulless exploitation, and you may not understand the work environment from then on as being not conducive to saving. The cusp boomers aren't all princes like the children of the Greatest Gen, and may only own a home if it's been willed to them (and not shared with 4 siblings).

I can tell you from working in a well-established and actually supportive dot-com - a nice place to work, actually - that the people who are 60 now will not have been financially set with a trajectory back then, as they were being replaced by off-shored labour while management was discovering why labour can't just be ditched wholesale for that particular stupid idea. They may have retirement, but won't be nearly as well-set as the unionized workers back then -- and didn't realize the gamble they were taking.

The disdain toward workers just based on age was one of the themes emerging from the post-dot-com lay-offs, where we got rid of the most expensive workers who happened to be older, more experienced, mentor- or writer-types, who were in positions of building advancement and training programmes for juniors to become good seniors just as part of their job and group membership. And now we're several generations of Lost Boy coders who weren't taught why we code properly, why we test, why we don't grab things wildly from the wild west internet, and all the other things that were codified in docs like iso27002 but we just knew back then from mentorship and patient individualized instruction by seniors.

[–] otter@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 2 weeks ago

Fun fact: retirement (at least in the US) requires not only that future generations are dumbed down enough to buy into the scam of paying more for the same grift, consecutively, but also that the tired-ass façade is faithfully upheld every single day, in perpetuity. 🤢🫩

[–] 52fighters@sopuli.xyz 25 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)
  • He lost his job at age 63.

  • He would rather retire at age 65, when he is eligible for Medicare for his health insurance.

  • He would like to delay Social Security to age 67, so he can get the maximum benefit.

I would love to sit down with him and discuss his situation. A few small adjustments and he could probably hit his goals. It just might not involved him using the same skill set he developed over his prior working career.

[–] otter@lemmy.dbzer0.com 10 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

In this day & age, I'm pretty curious what actionable advice you'd have to offer, all due respect. 🙇🏼‍♂️🖖🏼

[–] 52fighters@sopuli.xyz 0 points 3 days ago (1 children)

The recommendation would require a conversation, because what he wants and the details of his situation might vary from any imagined scenario, but I will say that I met with someone a couple of days ago who was in a similar situation. He took up part-time school bus driving to get insurance and other benefits and he is going to start drawing on his 401k to push back when he starts social security. Next year his wife (the smaller of the two SS payments) will be eligible and they will take hers early because if he dies, she gets his. That's why they wanted to delay taking his. But both are in good health, so this seems like a good plan.

[–] otter@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 3 days ago

That seems like quite an edge-case, NGL.

[–] Humanius@lemmy.world 23 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (2 children)

Losing your job that late in life can be quite a problem. Not many employers want to put in the time and effort of hiring someone and getting them up to speed for their new role, only to see them retire a few years later.

[–] funkless_eck@sh.itjust.works 14 points 2 weeks ago (3 children)

most millennials only spend 3 years tops at each job anyway.

[–] atomicorange@lemmy.world 6 points 2 weeks ago

This exactly. Not just millennials but everyone. Hire based on skills and pay a competitive rate, because you can’t predict who will stick around based on their age.

[–] magikmw@piefed.social 4 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Me, millenial at 12 years >_>

[–] Mnem667@sh.itjust.works 5 points 2 weeks ago
[–] ianhclark510@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 points 2 weeks ago

damn, look at Methusela over here lasting 3 years at a job

[–] Tikiporch@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago

I'd hire an older person with a solid work history any day. They more experience they can show, the less of a gamble they are.

[–] melsaskca@lemmy.ca 13 points 2 weeks ago

If he was a CEO who got canned then he could just become a board member of his friends other companies because that's what most CEO's end up doing (and not because they need the dosh).

[–] eletes@sh.itjust.works 9 points 2 weeks ago

He mainly wants healthcare benefits. If I were in that pinch I'd try to find one of those companies that has decent healthcare for part timers like Costco. But I get that might be hard at that age.

His ev charge station technician plans probably got thwarted by Trump