## #StayAtHomeMom #CareerOptions #WorkingMother
Hey there! 👋 If your mom has never worked outside the home and is looking to explore her career options, there are definitely opportunities available for her to consider. While it may seem daunting at first, with the right support and guidance, she can successfully navigate this new chapter in her life. Let’s delve into some possible options she can explore:
### Potential Career Paths for Stay-at-Home Moms:
#### 1. Freelancing:
– Utilize her skills in writing, graphic design, social media management, or virtual assisting to kickstart a freelancing business.
– Platforms like Upwork, Fiverr, and Freelancer offer a plethora of opportunities for freelancers to connect with clients worldwide.
#### 2. Remote Work:
– Explore remote job options in customer service, data entry, transcription, or online tutoring.
– Websites like FlexJobs, Remote.co, and We Work Remotely list remote job opportunities across various industries.
#### 3. Starting a Home-based Business:
– Consider starting a small business from home, such as baking, crafting, consulting, or tutoring.
– Platforms like Etsy, Shopify, or Wix can help her set up an online store for her products or services.
### Support and Resources Available:
#### 1. Career Counseling:
– Encourage her to seek career counseling services to assess her skills, interests, and potential career paths.
– Professionals can provide personalized guidance and support throughout her career transition journey.
#### 2. Online Courses:
– Enroll in online courses or certifications to acquire new skills and enhance her marketability.
– Platforms like Coursera, Udemy, and LinkedIn Learning offer a wide range of courses to choose from.
#### 3. Networking:
– Encourage her to network with professionals in her desired industry through LinkedIn, virtual networking events, or local meetups.
– Building connections can open doors to job opportunities and valuable mentorship.
By exploring these options and utilizing the available resources, your mom can embark on a fulfilling career journey despite never having worked before. Remember, it’s never too late to pursue your passions and dreams! ✨🌟
I hope this information helps in guiding your mom towards her career aspirations. Best of luck to her on this new adventure! 🚀 #EmpoweredMom #CareerChange #NewBeginnings
I would check into it, but she may get some social security for the years when she was married and her husband worked.
I’m pretty sure she can just make an account on the Social Security Administration office and see her benefits.
EDIT: Looks like if they were married for more than 10yrs then she can get whatever 50% of his benefit is, but double check.
she has a house—can she babysit?
reverse mortgages are typically a terrible idea as they are very expensive loans but if she has no other choice… and is 62 or older it is an option. her estate would have to give the bank the home (or loan balance) upon death or moving- should be a last resort but an option
Retirement is an economic state and not an arbitrary age. If she lacks the funds to stop working, she either keeps working to survive or she doesn’t.
She may qualify for social security based on her ex-spouses income. If that proves insufficient, she could potentially apply for SSI (that’s welfare and different from social security), but that depends on whether her social security income is low enough and SSI payments taper off the more income or outside support you get.
In terms of healthcare, assuming she qualifies for social security–either from her ex-husband or her continued working–she will receive that at age 65.
She could leverage her home in the following ways:
1) If there is spare space, she can rent rooms to supplement her income. I know a few old ladies who rent homes in the California Bay Area to single female tech workers.
2) Downsize her home by selling it and moving to a less expensive home/area and arbitraging the difference.
3) She downsizes and sells the home but comes to live with family. With social security, savings from her sold house and shared expenses by living together, she may have a comfortable retirement.
My advice would encourage her to continue working for as long as possible and try to do what she can to move up in pay and to find a less physically demanding job that she could continue to work part time in her more senior years. My mom for example does the books for various contractors that she can do from her home after retiring from being a florist. It keeps her busy and gives her extra money to supplement her retirement.
She can probably get some social security if she was married for 10+ years. The reality is she will probably need to work until she no longer an. Unemployment doesn’t pay for retirement. It pays if you lose your job, not if you retire or leave.
The sad truth is that being a SAH parent is generally a really bad idea for the SAH person. These situations are fairly common. This is why I also recommend if you SAH you need to have the working person contributing to a retirement account or investment account of some kind for you retirement.
Start with seeing what she can get in social security and then start building a plan from there. She may have to sell the house. She may not be able to afford to maintain it, pay for taxes, etc. at some point. It might be better for her to downsize and invest whatever she has left.
You’ll need to consider how much if any help you want/can give her.
How early on did they divorce? How was she a stay at home mom her whole life, even after her kids left? Kids grow up. I really don’t understand how you can have 3 kids in a marriage and be a stay at home mom for more than 20 years. Not work before or after kids? Not even after divorce or before marriage? Was she living off her inheritance? The only way this works is if they were married a long time. Alimony is usually short and not much.
I’d access her real work history with social security and see what comes up. Even teen jobs count.
She needs to go to work and get as many social security and Medicare credits as she can. About 10 years of work is needed to get Medicare, which is what I’d be more worried about.
First, check to see what SS benefits may be available to her:
https://www.ssa.gov/prepare/check-eligibility-for-benefits
(Note: The site may not be fully online on weekends or late night hours)
Edit: Also, realize that “retirement age” and “being able to retire” are not the same thing. Once you have gone over all the options, she may have to come to grips with the reality that she will have to work for many more years than she was planning on.
You have to be willing and **able** and looking for work in order to collect unemployment.
She had to be married for 10 years at least in order to collect her ex’s social security.
So, while she was divorced, she relied on child support payments and did not start working until after the child support ended?
Folks who are reading who are thinking about staying at home, let this be a cautionary tale. Once kids are in school, there is no reason to stay at home and not earn money, even if it is just part-time.
Unfortunately, OP, your MIL is going to have to keep working until she is no longer able as she has made many poor decisions that has led to her situation. Unless she plans on using you and her kids to support her in retirement, which I see quite often in situations like this.
Honestly her options are that she will need financial assistance from her children in retirement.
If she is existing on low wages, you can see how much her SS will pay – but with two years of work, it is going to be minimal as I believe you need at least 10 years of work history.
There are other programs that might kick in but with seniors these are often asset based as well so her having a home may be problematic – depends on the state.
You need to start researching what kind of programs might be available
Help her sign up for access to her information Social Security information at https://www.ssa.gov/myaccount/
* Get personalized retirement benefit estimates
* Get estimates for spouse’s benefits
* Get proof that you do not receive benefits
* Check your application status
* Get your Social Security Statement
If she was married for 10 years or more,
she **may be eligible** for [spousal benefits](https://blog.ssa.gov/do-you-qualify-for-social-security-spouses-benefits/)
Or if ex is deceased , [survivors benefits](https://www.benefits.gov/benefit/4408).
Check to see if her county will give a property tax break if she’s certain age. Mine gives a discount at 65, I think.
Check with the Adult Division of Department of Social Services to see what she’s eligible for. Also, look into the Senior Center to see if they have representative who can assist her.
If she was married ten years, she gets spousal Social Security based on her ex’s income record. This does not affect the ex’s claim to SS.
If the amount is less than a poverty amount ($963 in 2024), the amount is supplemented up to that number in a program called SSI.
A lot depends on what state she lives in and how long she was married.
This has become a huge problem for older women and they find themselves living below the poverty level.
I would never advise a woman to give up working for this vary reason. They always think it can’t happen to them but it does. If a mom stays home she should insist on a Roth being built in her name.
Hopefully she had a good divorce attorney who was able to secure her 1/2 of his retirement and social security.
Her options are to sell the house and move in with you.
If she was married to any ex husband for 10 years she will qualify to receive 50% of the ex husband’s social security benefit amount. She can call social security to find out the amount. I don’t even think it has to be the most recent ex husband if she is over a certain age but she should confirm that.