Sure, you’d love to go back to school or get that one-year certificate that would help you get a new, more meaningful job.

But every time you think about it, you hit the same brick wall: What will I do for income while I’m in school? Who will pay the bills? And what about the kids’ tuition?

We hear you. We’ve been thinking, too, about how to make it easier for people 50+ to learn new skills, adapt to rapid shifts in the economy, and prepare for their encores. (See Encore Fellowships here.)

Our policy idea — to, in effect, borrow the money from Social Security — got a little attention this past week. It was one of seven policy proposals — all finalists in the AARP Innovation Challenge — presented at a forum sponsored by AARP and the National Academy of Social Insurance.

In short, Debra Whitman, Marc Freedman and I suggested that we build supports for lifelong learning and retraining into Social Security. If you paid into the system and earned credit for at least 10 years, our plan would allow you to collect Lifelong Learning Benefits that would help cover living expenses while you go to school full time for up to two years.

The proposal includes two financing options, neither of which would adversely affect the solvency of the Social Security fund.

It gets a little complicated, but if you’re interested learning more about this and the other ideas selected by AARP’s Public Policy Institute, check them out here.

Published: October 20, 2017