Losing a job is almost always traumatic. In your 50s, job loss can be devastating — and devastatingly common.
More than half the workers who entered their 50s with stable, full-time jobs were laid off or pushed out at least once by age 65, according to an analysis of employment data from 1990 to 2016 by the nonprofit newsroom ProPublica and the Urban Institute, a nonprofit think tank. Only 10% of those who lost a job ever found another that paid as much, and most never recovered financially.
Such concerns may seem remote in a booming economy, when the official unemployment rate is 3.5% overall and just 2.4% for those 55 and over. But recessions are inevitable, and even in good times older workers can be more vulnerable to involuntary job loss because of age discrimination.
These realities make it important to have a plan for navigating what could be your most dangerous decade.
Step up
It can be tempting after decades of work to think you can coast to retirement. But older workers who aren't proactively adding skills are more likely to be laid off, said Susan Weinstock, vice president, financial resilience programming at AARP.
"If the economy tanks, they'll be the first to go," Weinstock says. "Staying current in your field is really important."
Weinstock recommends that older people take advantage of any training opportunities their employers offer, volunteer for new assignments and become both "a mentor and a mentee." A younger co-worker could help you stay up on the latest technologies your office uses, for example.
"This is a great way for you to learn from someone else and to build more relationships," Weinstock said.