—Photos by Jose Mandojana

JOB LOSS

Dave Tindall, a 54-year-old construction project manager, never expected to have a business meeting before his morning coffee kicked in. But at 8 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 3, he heard a knock on the door of his home in Fort Wayne, Ind. He figured it was a neighbor looking to borrow something. Instead, it was his boss and his boss’s two sons. They had come to say they were letting him go, and to collect his company credit card and his keys to the company car.

Tindall, who worked for the family-owned construction firm for nine years, felt “like a deer in headlights,” he says. “Maybe I was naive, but I didn’t see this coming and I didn’t plan for it. Now I have to start over.”

He’s not alone. The number of older workers losing their jobs is growing faster than any other age group—from 3.2 to 5.2 percent in the past year. It rose to 5.6 percent in February.

Starting over is never easy, but older workers face added challenges: There are fewer jobs, they’re harder to find, the search takes longer—typically 25 weeks for a 55-plus job seeker compared with 18.7 weeks for someone younger—and the salary is often lower.

And then there are emotional issues. Since he lost his job, Tindall fills his days with chores like laundry, dishes and being “a human alarm clock” to wake his wife up so she can get to her job at a workshop for the mentally and physically challenged. But, says Tindall, there is a vacuum.

Layoffs can be “especially painful” for older, experienced workers, says Maxine Hartley, an executive coach in New York. “Their losses become intertwined with their sense of self,” she says. “It’s a hard lesson when you learn that you are expendable.”

The Tindalls have since cut spending, and Dave Tindall has gone on unemployment. “I knew I was entitled to it,” he says, “but I felt bad applying.” Tindall, who collects a little more than $350 a week in benefits, is still looking for work in the building trades, which he believes will pick up again. “I’m hopeful,” he says. “I think you have to be hopeful; otherwise you’re lost.”

Be flexible. Economic conditions right now are "unprecedented," says John Challenger, of Challenger, Gray & Christmas. "But companies that are actively hiring want seasoned personnel, people who can hit the ground running." Be patient: Older workers do find work, often rewarding work, both intellectually and financially," he says.

SAVINGS

Don Hearn, 62, lost his park and recreation supervisor position in November, and suddenly worries started piling up. “It’s very frightening, wondering if you can keep up with all of your expenses, even though you’ve cut back,” says Hearn, who lives in Chelmsford, Mass.

The collapse of the stock market makes any calculation difficult. In the past two years, some $2.8 trillion in retirement savings has been destroyed. So far, he’s taken about $5,000 out of his retirement account, and he worries that his job search may take longer than he anticipated and force him to withdraw more. He’s wondering whether to apply for Social Security early, even though he knows his benefits will be reduced.

Fortunately for Hearn, health care is not a concern, he says, because his wife is a GM retiree: “We have great health care coverage, so for now I’m good.”

Hearn spends his days looking for work, mostly through industry contacts and Internet job searches. "I never thought that I’d be 62 and looking for a job,” he says. “I thought I’d be winding down to a great retirement. But that wasn’t in the cards.”

Hearn remains optimistic. “I have a lot of knowledge,” he says. “The trick at my age is to make that sound like a plus for a potential employer, not just a ticket to a high salary. It’s going to be tough, but all of us mature workers are kind of tough.”

He should know. This is his third layoff in a decade, including one from a job he’d had for 28 years. “I’m here to tell you that an older person can survive the layoff,” he says. “It’s not always pretty, but you do survive.”

Avoid early withdrawals. "Taking hits on your retirement accounts, especially when the stock market is falling, generally isn't a good idea," says Matt D'Arcy, of Greybridge Financial in Cleveland. Seek professional help. "There are a lot of strategies that might help people avoid touching retirement investments," he says. "The point is to sit down with someone who can help you map a plan." If possible, delay Social Security. Benefits are reduced before full retirement age. (Calculate this at www.ssa.gov/planners/calculators.htm.)

HEALTH CARE

Allison Mattingly, 63, was laid off in June from her editorial assistant job with a newspaper in DeLand, Fla. She’s collecting unemployment, but her health care benefits, which also covered her husband, Tim, 61, stopped at the beginning of the year. “We are too young for Medicare, and too old to get good insurance rates,” she says.

The couple weighed two options. First, through COBRA (the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1986), they could keep the health benefits from Allison’s job for up to 18 months, but they’d have to pay for it out of pocket. The Mattinglys say they are “in great health,” but faced a critical deadline—those applying for COBRA should do so within 62 days of losing their old coverage to avoid being denied because of preexisting conditions.

The couple’s other option was to buy a limited private policy—which is what they decided to do, but only for Allison. “We found one that will pay for doctors and surgeries but won’t cover long-term things like cancer chemotherapy,” says Tim Mattingly. “I know we need coverage,” added Allison, “but having the best of the best may not be in our budget.”

For many unemployed workers, it’s the intangible job perks that they miss most, like a sense of identity and camaraderie. “There is a loss of benefits, sure, but there is also a loss of connections to an industry and to people,” says psychologist Al Siebert, author of The Resiliency Advantage. When Allison heard she was laid off, she was “devastated,” she says. “I’m a young 63, but working with my young friends kept me feeling even younger.”

These days, she’s busy with painting and other activities that she’d never had time for when she was working. And she has a supportive husband: Tim, a retired policeman, does part-time delivery for a florist. “That makes a world of difference,” she says. “We’re in this together.”

Allison Mattingly is optimistic. She has sent out a pile of resumés and is waiting for responses. “I’m not going to be picky,” she says. “But I hope that they recognize experience counts.”

Explore care options. These include COBRA, a union or association group plan, or a high deductible plan to protect against catastrophic events. Focus on the future. "Those who succeed look forward, instead of focusing on what they lost," says author Siebert.

Joan Raymond is a freelance journalist who writes for many national publications. She lives in Cleveland.