Going back to college in one’s midlife phase is a challenge upon mere thought. It is admirable and yet the act of doing it actually is more than a challenge and can be frustrating. Financing one’s college expenses is easier said than done.Dipping into one’s IRA has a lot of risks involve because you don’t know whether you can sustain those three to four years in college. Better have something to fall back on when you have plans to spend your retirement account.
— Research paper help | Essay
US News and World Report has a piece on how to make penalty-free withdrawals from your IRA before you turn 59-1/2. It’s risky, because you’re spending down your retirement savings, but may be worthwhile in certain cases, including for financing the transition to an encore career.
Among the options (laid out in more detail in the piece):
“College. IRA accounts can be used to pay for higher education expenses, such as tuition, fees, books, supplies, and required equipment. If the individual is at least a half-time student, room and board are also qualifying expenses…
“Annuity payments. You can receive early distributions from a traditional IRA without penalty if they are part of a series of equal payments over your lifetime or the lifetimes of a beneficiary and you.”
The cost of living is inexpensive and the quality of life is high on university campuses, about $1000 per month, with everything imaginable to do while there.Poverty level living, in an affluent environment.
Students accomplish low cost living through shared housing, walking and other public transportation and many other low cost(but engaging activities)
I plan to go back to college, full time to retool mentally, physically and professionally. I don’t want to become a dependent of my children, or a social burden from poor mental or physical health. I have taken classes in evenings at community colleges and private universities,(and online). You drive there, take the class and leave.. back to life again. You still have to pay for the house and the cars, etc. This path lacks the social community of living on campus and doing things together. Of course, if you’re 50 something, you feel a bit awkward with 20 year old room mates and your interests and activities may not be the same.
I like to think big. Wouldn’t it be nice to go back to college, with 50 or 100 or more other mid life people looking for an encore on a campus? How about a little couch surfing exchange during breaks at Harvard, Stanford,etc. How about a semester abroad with some other mid lifers?
The problem, of course is how to find other like minded people, willing to leave their homes and all their “stuff” behind for a new adventure for the 2nd half of life. I recently started a social network using Ning for those who might be interested in pursuing the path of Back to College. Alas, tis just me who thinks like me:(
Rob: I think your concept of a return to college in ‘midlife’ is quite interesting.
There may be several hurdles to overcome – you named one – that of living with a much younger population. If there were a community of midlifers that would help, but how could that be accomplished?
Another issue is that of the education expenses. A college needs to have revenue from those it educates. Most public colleges limit the length of time a student is enrolled, or limit repetion of the same courses.
I have been interested in the Cohousing concept, but that can be expensive, and my wife is definitely not interested in that.
(Because of your post I am looking into Ning.)
Regards,
Bob S
Hello Bob,
Thanks for your comments Bob. I agree it won’t be easy, and won’t work for everyone, just some. Others, I am sure, will get angry with me for talking about the concept.
Establishing a community of mid-lifers:
I am still evaluating strengths and weaknesses of different social networking technology. Facebook, Ning, Apps, Twitter, Linkedin, Meetup, etc. I hope social networking technology will be the tool needed to connect people.
Online communities are good for connecting people, but are still lacking in creating “community” that comes from face to face interaction. A Map is not the territory, so they say. I think the technology to connect people online is here now,(with a few twists), however the face to face part of “community” needs work.
As I understand it, stranger things are happening. Some meet on line and get married! Some meet online and become Ex-pats! Some find room mates on Craigslist! People use meetup.com to form local drinking, dining, hiking or other local activity groups.
While it won’t work for everyone, there are 78 million Baby Boomers. They say 30% have 4 year degrees or more (Not impossible for those without degrees) They say that 50% divorced at one time, and 35% are still living single. A married couple could certainty go back to school, just as they could if they were married and 20 years old, but it might be easier for single people. The population of single Baby Boomers, with degrees, is around 8 million. I think communities of mid-lifers of 50 to 100 per campus might be nice.
Part II expenses
Living expenses on campus are only low, if if you live a students lifestyle-shared housing, transportation etc.
Tuition: I agree that schools will not let you stay on for ever. It’s not really my intent to become a lifetime student. Just a few years to retool and relaunch that Encore career, in good physical and mental health with updated skills, and some new college friends, for the next 30 years. Public colleges and Extension programs with concurrent (regular campus classes, with enrollment through the extension programs) are cheaper. Other’s have pointed to ways of using 401k money without penalty. If you are a full time student, you are required to have insurance-“student insurance” I explained my situation and was told it would cost me less than $1000 per year. Because I have a master’s degree, I have found adjunct teaching jobs on campus, that pay handsomely, if you think of yourself as a student, and not trying to support a family with a house, cars, etc.
I think it moral to go to public college, because it will allow me to work longer, pay taxes longer as a result, retool to maintain mental and physical health. I may not make a million bucks in my second life, but it may have a higher purpose.
The Obama administration just announced that unemployed workers receiving unemployment benefits may qualify for the Federal Pell Grant program, which can provide up to $5,350 for educational costs at community colleges, colleges and universities, and many trade and technical schools.
There’s more information about federal student aid programs at www.opportunity.gov.
Here’s a $10 billion tip: take advantage of some obscure provisions of Social Security’s spousal benefits to claim benefits that could help finance the transition to your encore career.
The key thing to remember is that an encore transition is an investment – in yourself. Since as few as two additional years of work are enough to salvage many retirement financial plans, taking the time to plan and prepare for the kind of work you really want to do is a prudent move, particularly if it enables you to be happy working longer.
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Going back to college in one’s midlife phase is a challenge upon mere thought. It is admirable and yet the act of doing it actually is more than a challenge and can be frustrating. Financing one’s college expenses is easier said than done.Dipping into one’s IRA has a lot of risks involve because you don’t know whether you can sustain those three to four years in college. Better have something to fall back on when you have plans to spend your retirement account.
—
Research paper help | Essay
US News and World Report has a piece on how to make penalty-free withdrawals from your IRA before you turn 59-1/2. It’s risky, because you’re spending down your retirement savings, but may be worthwhile in certain cases, including for financing the transition to an encore career.
Among the options (laid out in more detail in the piece):
“College. IRA accounts can be used to pay for higher education expenses, such as tuition, fees, books, supplies, and required equipment. If the individual is at least a half-time student, room and board are also qualifying expenses…
“Annuity payments. You can receive early distributions from a traditional IRA without penalty if they are part of a series of equal payments over your lifetime or the lifetimes of a beneficiary and you.”
David Bank
Civic Ventures
The cost of living is inexpensive and the quality of life is high on university campuses, about $1000 per month, with everything imaginable to do while there.Poverty level living, in an affluent environment.
Students accomplish low cost living through shared housing, walking and other public transportation and many other low cost(but engaging activities)
I plan to go back to college, full time to retool mentally, physically and professionally. I don’t want to become a dependent of my children, or a social burden from poor mental or physical health. I have taken classes in evenings at community colleges and private universities,(and online). You drive there, take the class and leave.. back to life again. You still have to pay for the house and the cars, etc. This path lacks the social community of living on campus and doing things together. Of course, if you’re 50 something, you feel a bit awkward with 20 year old room mates and your interests and activities may not be the same.
I like to think big. Wouldn’t it be nice to go back to college, with 50 or 100 or more other mid life people looking for an encore on a campus? How about a little couch surfing exchange during breaks at Harvard, Stanford,etc. How about a semester abroad with some other mid lifers?
The problem, of course is how to find other like minded people, willing to leave their homes and all their “stuff” behind for a new adventure for the 2nd half of life. I recently started a social network using Ning for those who might be interested in pursuing the path of Back to College. Alas, tis just me who thinks like me:(
Rob: I think your concept of a return to college in ‘midlife’ is quite interesting.
There may be several hurdles to overcome – you named one – that of living with a much younger population. If there were a community of midlifers that would help, but how could that be accomplished?
Another issue is that of the education expenses. A college needs to have revenue from those it educates. Most public colleges limit the length of time a student is enrolled, or limit repetion of the same courses.
I have been interested in the Cohousing concept, but that can be expensive, and my wife is definitely not interested in that.
(Because of your post I am looking into Ning.)
Regards,
Bob S
Hello Bob,
Thanks for your comments Bob. I agree it won’t be easy, and won’t work for everyone, just some. Others, I am sure, will get angry with me for talking about the concept.
Establishing a community of mid-lifers:
I am still evaluating strengths and weaknesses of different social networking technology. Facebook, Ning, Apps, Twitter, Linkedin, Meetup, etc. I hope social networking technology will be the tool needed to connect people.
Online communities are good for connecting people, but are still lacking in creating “community” that comes from face to face interaction. A Map is not the territory, so they say. I think the technology to connect people online is here now,(with a few twists), however the face to face part of “community” needs work.
As I understand it, stranger things are happening. Some meet on line and get married! Some meet online and become Ex-pats! Some find room mates on Craigslist! People use meetup.com to form local drinking, dining, hiking or other local activity groups.
While it won’t work for everyone, there are 78 million Baby Boomers. They say 30% have 4 year degrees or more (Not impossible for those without degrees) They say that 50% divorced at one time, and 35% are still living single. A married couple could certainty go back to school, just as they could if they were married and 20 years old, but it might be easier for single people. The population of single Baby Boomers, with degrees, is around 8 million. I think communities of mid-lifers of 50 to 100 per campus might be nice.
Part II expenses
Living expenses on campus are only low, if if you live a students lifestyle-shared housing, transportation etc.
Tuition: I agree that schools will not let you stay on for ever. It’s not really my intent to become a lifetime student. Just a few years to retool and relaunch that Encore career, in good physical and mental health with updated skills, and some new college friends, for the next 30 years. Public colleges and Extension programs with concurrent (regular campus classes, with enrollment through the extension programs) are cheaper. Other’s have pointed to ways of using 401k money without penalty. If you are a full time student, you are required to have insurance-“student insurance” I explained my situation and was told it would cost me less than $1000 per year. Because I have a master’s degree, I have found adjunct teaching jobs on campus, that pay handsomely, if you think of yourself as a student, and not trying to support a family with a house, cars, etc.
I think it moral to go to public college, because it will allow me to work longer, pay taxes longer as a result, retool to maintain mental and physical health. I may not make a million bucks in my second life, but it may have a higher purpose.
Education aid for unemployed workers
The Obama administration just announced that unemployed workers receiving unemployment benefits may qualify for the Federal Pell Grant program, which can provide up to $5,350 for educational costs at community colleges, colleges and universities, and many trade and technical schools.
There’s more information about federal student aid programs at www.opportunity.gov.
David Bank
Editor, Encore.org
Here’s a $10 billion tip: take advantage of some obscure provisions of Social Security’s spousal benefits to claim benefits that could help finance the transition to your encore career.
Married couples are leaving on the table nearly $10 billion in unclaimed Social Security benefits, according to “Strange But True: Claim Social Security Now, Claim More Later,” from the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College.
Warning: It’s complicated, so you may want to start with US News and World Report’s simpler explanation of the technique.
David Bank
Editor, Encore.org
Financing Your Encore Career
Saving Up for Career No. 2 in Business Week has useful guidance on the wisdom of using retirement savings to finance your encore career.
One helpful resource mentioned in the article is ESPlanner.com (ES refers to Economic Security), the new site created by economist Lawrence Kotlikoff.
David Bank
Editor, Encore.org
The key thing to remember is that an encore transition is an investment – in yourself. Since as few as two additional years of work are enough to salvage many retirement financial plans, taking the time to plan and prepare for the kind of work you really want to do is a prudent move, particularly if it enables you to be happy working longer.
See: How to Finance the Transition to Your Encore Career.
David Bank
Editor, Encore.org