It’s a startling truth that hundreds of thousands of retired educators (both education leaders and teachers) face dire financial struggles within a few short years of exiting the school system. Most reach school district retirement eligibility in their late 50s, nearly a decade before reaching the national retirement age. This poses another unique set of challenges.

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Many retired educators who were once 6-figure earners and maintained fiscally responsible lives are now suffering significant hardships but remain often silent due to embarrassment.

 

A disproportionate number of these individuals attempt to re-enter the workforce struggling to navigate a new and unfamiliar private sector job market. Most end up on the same narrow career paths, stuck in low-wage, labor-intensive, or entry-level positions such as retail, MLM and pyramid sales, social workers, college adjuncts, tutors, etc., despite possessing highly marketable and transferable skills.

 

Others have experienced multiple failed attempts at launching education consulting firms without the necessary business acumen and are teetering on the brink of financial ruin.

 

It is troubling that so many of our retired citizens in the education profession, despite having highly marketable skills, endure a life of struggle post-retirement, simply because they lack access to the necessary career transition readiness resources needed, receive limited support, and are greatly underserved.

 

While our nation prioritizes recruiting new educators, we appear to inadvertently neglect the plight of countless retired educators.

 

These incredibly selfless educators, who have devoted the majority of their lives shaping young minds, now find themselves unnoticed and underserved.

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