Losing job

[Sister58]

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I am asking this question for my sister and brother-in-law as they do not have internet access.
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My sister is 52. She is diabetic and has been out of work for a few months due to needing eye surgery. She has one procedure left and hopefully will be able to start working again before too long. She is a hair dresser and does not have any benefits at work.

Her husband is 61. The company he works for is going out of business at the end of this month. The area they live in is very depressed and there are not many job prospects. Their biggest fear is losing their health insurance.

Luckily they do not have any car payments or credit cards debt, but the unemployment my BIL will be getting will not fully pay their monthly expenses. I do not know how long he will be able to collect unemployment. We are praying he will find another job soon.

I believe he can take a lump sum of his 401K and not be penalized. He has about $30K. I hate for them to have to use that up meeting monthly expenses, but I do not know what advice to give them.

Any advice will be appreciated. Thank you

[Broken Arrow]

I won't be able to help you with your question, but I just wanted to say welcome to the site, Sister58. I hope that all will work out in the end for your sister and her husband.

[fake_usa]

This is a little of topic but still good advice,

If your sister has customers that really like her she might be able to give them her number and continue cutting their hair on the side.
Some people get attached to their barber or beautician.

My mother left her salon like 30 years ago and she still has former customers coming to her house to get a perm job or hair cut.

good luck

[Scanner]

The company he works for is going out of business at the end of this month. The area they live in is very depressed and there are not many job prospects. Their biggest fear is losing their health insurance.

I think there's the answer. I have relatives who live in "no-mans land" and the exact same thing happens to them. They always joke about us, 'Oh you guys live in the big city." (we actually don't - I suppose it's suburbia - there's farmland and houses all around but to them, it's 'the city') but then they complain when they are out of work and sing a country song.

Well, it's because they live in the sticks.

There's nothing there.

It's okay to pick up and move if the town they live in isn't supporting them.

Good luck.

[FrugalFish]

Since he is older than 59 1/2, he should be eligible to take a hardship withdrawal from the 401K and it may not even be subjected to tax withholding. You can do additional research on this online as my knowledge is very limited.

I wish them the best and hope she is able to get back to work soon. We've been through the unemployment mill a couple of times and it is rough.

Fishy

[anonymous_saver]

Another way to make at least temporary money is to sell stuff online. Just recently I decided to finally get rid of some of my textbooks that I don't read any more. I've already sold $220 worth in a week and a half, and have about $200 more that will likely come.

I would not take out the money out of his 401(k). Would they be willing to downsize? This could free up some cash.

[boefixepa]

I know in our state you can "COBRA" your health insurance for six months. You have to pay the full primium, but you can hold on to your health insurance while you look for new employment. I'd hate to have to pay out of pocket for a surgery. That would take a MUCH bigger chunck out of the 30K in the 401K then paying the full primuims while they looked for new work.

Something else to consider is applying for medicar or medicade, whatever it is called. He is near retirement age, I don't know all the rules, but look into it. She may quilfy on disability alone.

And have them seriously consider moving if it a viable option to better their employment opportunites and long term outlook.

[disneysteve]

It sounds like she is disabled. Is she collecting any disability benefits? If not, she should look into that. Also, if neither is working, they probably qualify for Medicaid. They should apply for any benefits they might be eligible for.

[Sister58]

I will try to address some of the questions here. My Sister really can not see to do her work at this time. That is why she is off work awaiting her last eye surgery. Once she is able to see she will be back at work.

She and my BIL have been selling stuff via yard sales for the past several weekends. She actually got the money she had to pay for one of her surgeries that way.

They would not be opposed to moving, but I highly doubt they would have any luck selling their house now.

She has called SS about disability and they told her she had to be off work for a year in order to be considered disabled. If you can offer any advice about how to go about getting madicaid or medicare or any other help, I will pass it on. So far everyplace she has called has said there is nothing they can do.

Thank you all for your comments. I appreciate all the info I can get.

[fake_usa]

Have her tell the doctor she is an illegal alien from Mexico and she'll get it done for free..

[jamai]

Have her tell the doctor she is an illegal alien from Mexico and she'll get it done for free..

does that really work, or you're just joking?