This Woman Lost Her 401(k) In The Recession, Will Likely Work Forever, And Doesn't Mind A Bit
Photo: Jackie Booley Jackie Booley (right) is living out a different retirement than she planned. Ask 67-year-old Jackie Booley about life after retirement, and within minutes her story paints an all-too familiar picture of the challenges faced by today's older workers: Widowed in 2006 after 42 years of marriage, Booley retired from her 15-year career as a call center specialist at AT&T. With a healthy $120,000 in her retirement account, she decided it was time to ride out her savings and leave her desk job behind. But a year into her newfound freedom, 2008's stock market crash turned half her savings to dust. "I was taking supplements from my 401(k), plus the Social Security my husband left me, but it wasn't quite enough (to live on)," Booley said. In the end, she wound up with only one viable option––going back to the workforce she'd left less than two years before. She's certainly not alone. Eighty-six percent of workers in their 60s say they will...