Some in Retirement Forced to Reenter Workforce Amid Record Inflation

Howard Handler, 80, is at the age when many people should be enjoying retirement — kicking back and taking it easy after a life of hard work.

But instead, the Palm Springs resident got a job making deliveries for GrubHub in order to make ends meet. 

“I did want to do food delivery. I said to myself, ‘There’s no way I’m going into a restaurant and I’m going to stand there and wait for food.’ Some people, they have to kind of let their ego go and just say to themselves, ‘I gotta do this. I gotta do this,’” Handler said. 

The nation’s financial woes are hitting a lot of folks hard. A recent study found that 25% of Americans are delaying their retirement. And 1.5 million retired people have been forced to go back to work. 

The trend has been dubbed “The Great Unretirement.”

“I’m getting a little scared. I’m afraid I’m going to outlive my money,” said Cindy Andesi, who retired two years ago as an administrator. Now 71, she's looking for work.

“Everything started going up — gas prices, grocery prices. And the one thing that never went up was my social security. Unless I win the lottery, I’m expecting to work for quite awhile,” Andesi said.

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