Forced Early Retirement

Early retirement may sound pleasant, but in some cases it can be anything but. With jobs moving to Mexico and overseas at an alarming rate, many baby boomers are finding themselves phased out of their livelihoods and forced to retire before 401k maturation, losing thousands of dollars in penalty fees, taxes, and lost revenues due to retirement guidelines and requirements. On top of losing jobs, those forced into early retirement often lose healthcare coverage, with skyrocketing self-insurance premiums to look forward to as well as pre-existing conditions. Factories deciding to go south of the border are some of the most hard-hitting early retirement flunkies, causing seasoned workers who have steadily built strong 401k portfolios, often including company stock, to be forced to cash in just to survive, unable to gain new employment due to a highly-competitive, disappointing job market, an uncompatible salary range, and/or specilized skills which are non-transferrable. These early retirement casualties are just one of the many expensive losses America has seen lately due to changing attitudes in big business when it refers to employee appreciation.

Recently early retirement became a reality for a hard-working Martinsville, Indiana native. He had dedicated almost twenty years to local Harman Becker, a speaker manufacturer who recently decided to move most of its operations to Mexico. Harman Becker and their business-wise careless decision has devastated many families in the small town of Martinsville, Indiana, who relied on the local factory for generations of stable jobs. One of the most heinous business practices was committed by Harman Becker when it started letting go employees who were two to five years from retirement. Many of these employees, with no other choice due to a poor job market, have experienced forced early retirement due to this company's decision to move operations and jobs to Mexico.