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How Not to Retire

Forbes Magazine, 11/1/08

Abstract:

After working as a general contractor for 25 years, Michael Spark has spent the last two years of retirement doing exactly what he loves: teaching kids how to sail near his home on the Jersey shore and being town council president.

Then the subprime mortgage crisis hit, and the stock market plunged. Spark's retirement account declined 25 to 30 percent.

Time to go back to work!

Lots of baby boomers are in the same boat. But just because you have to keep working doesn't mean you have to keep doing the same thing. At 63, the idea of returning to heavy physical work as a contractor didn't really appeal to Spark. So he opted for an "encore career" in a completely different field.

Spark recently took a two-week course and a state exam to earn a real estate license. He's joining his wife at at HCH Sotheby's International Realty in Harvey Cedars, N.J., as an independent contractor.

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