Laid Off at 60: How to Bridge the Years to 65

If you’re laid off at 60, your first job is building a bridge to 65, when Medicare starts, and choosing when to claim Social Security, which can begin at 62 at a permanently reduced amount. Put those dates on one page first. Then decide how to fill the gap: another full-time role, a bridge job, consulting, or a business you own.

I’m Kelsie Ackman, and I lead franchise development at College Hunks Hauling Junk®. Most of our owners come from corporate America or the military, so the “what now” conversation after a restructuring is one our team has often. If your layoff is only days old, start with the first 30 days after a layoff (severance, unemployment, COBRA and your 401(k)). This post picks up where that one ends: the retirement math that only applies once you’re in your 60s.

What happens when you’re laid off at 60?

A layoff at 60 leaves a five-year gap before Medicare and a two-year wait before Social Security is even available, so health coverage and cash flow become separate problems with separate deadlines. Here is the calendar most people in this spot are working against.

The dates come from the Social Security Administration and Medicare.gov. Your own numbers depend on your birth year and work record, so pull your statement at ssa.gov before you decide anything.

How do you cover health insurance from 60 to 65?

Most people stack two coverages: COBRA for up to 18 months, then a Marketplace plan or a spouse’s employer plan until Medicare begins at 65. Losing job-based coverage opens a 60-day Special Enrollment Period on HealthCare.gov, so you don’t have to wait for open enrollment.

Price both before you elect COBRA. Marketplace insurers can charge older adults up to three times what they charge younger ones, but premium tax credits can cut that sharply depending on what your household expects to bring in that year. For a lot of 60-year-olds, the five-year health bill is the single biggest line in the bridge budget, so it deserves its own spreadsheet tab.

When should you claim Social Security if you’re laid off at 60?

You can’t claim before 62, and every month you wait between 62 and 70 raises your benefit for life. Claim at 62 with a full retirement age of 67 and you get roughly 70% of your full amount. Wait past 67 and the Social Security Administration adds 8% a year until 70.

The catch for anyone who plans to keep working: if you claim before full retirement age and your wages or net self-employment pay pass SSA’s annual limit, part of your benefit is withheld. It isn’t lost (SSA recalculates at full retirement age), but it can surprise people who claim early and then take a bridge job or start a business. The SSA’s work-while-receiving page lists the current limit.

Is it hard to get a job after age 60?

It’s usually slower, and the honest threads on Reddit say the same thing: plenty of experienced managers in their 60s report long searches and offers below their last title. Federal law (the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, enforced by the EEOC) protects workers 40 and older, but it can’t make hiring move faster.

The searches that go best tend to target roles where 30 years of judgment is the reason for the hire: interim leadership, turnaround work, fractional operations roles, or a former customer or vendor who already knows you. Treat the search as one path, not the only one.

Is it better to retire or keep working after a layoff at 60?

It depends on runway, not age. Retiring at 60 means more years drawing on savings and, if you claim early, a smaller Social Security check for life. Working even part-time until 62, 65 or 67 shrinks both problems at once.

A fee-only financial planner can run your real numbers. If you need 401(k) money before 59½, read up on the rule of 55 first (it’s covered in our layoff guide) and on how ROBS works if you’re thinking about using retirement funds to buy a business.

What are your real options between 60 and 67?

There are four paths most laid-off managers weigh, and they differ most on upfront capital and how long it takes before money comes in.

If the last row is the one you keep looking at, get your questions answered by our franchise development team before you spend another week guessing.

Can you start a business at 60 and still step back later?

Yes, but plan the exit on day one, because a franchise is an asset you own with written rules for how you leave it. It is not a retirement plan, and nobody should buy one expecting it to run itself. What the 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document does give you is a clear structure:

• Term: the initial franchise term is 10 years, with a 10-year renewal term available (Item 17). The renewal fee is $7,500 (Item 6).
• Selling: you can transfer the business with our approval once the buyer qualifies, completes training and signs a new franchise agreement. The transfer fee is $15,000 for the first zone and $5,000 for each additional zone.
• Our rights: the franchisor holds a right of first refusal (we can match a buyer’s offer) and the right to buy the business back after the 60th month of operation. Those are our options, not yours, so read them in Item 17 before you sign.
• Family: a transfer to heirs or a surviving partner after death or disability isn’t treated as a transfer when a new manager completes initial training within 90 days.

The career change at 50 guide walks through this in its “what happens when you want to step back” section.

What does owning a College Hunks franchise ask of someone at 60?

It asks you to lead, not lift. Owners run a team and the local business while crews do the physical work, and owners are expected to be operators in the business, not investors watching from a distance. The franchise requirements include a net worth of at least $200,000 and $75,000 in liquid capital.

You don’t build it alone. Our national Sales & Loyalty Center takes orders, schedules appointments and routes jobs to owners by zip code, and every owner works with a Marketing Coach and a Franchise Business Coach (see the training and support owners get). One territory can run both College Hunks Hauling Junk® and College Hunks Moving®, each with its own fee and its own truck. If you spent your career in operations or fleet, our list of businesses that fit an operations background is worth a look too.

Owners take on real obligations too, including a local advertising commitment and Sales & Loyalty Center appointment fees. Both are set out in Items 6 and 11 of the FDD, and the franchise development team walks through each one on a call. For the full numbers, see the full investment breakdown.

What do people get wrong after a layoff at 60?

• Electing COBRA without pricing a Marketplace plan first.
• Claiming Social Security at 62 out of panic, then taking a job that triggers the work limit.
• Assuming they have to choose between “retired” and “hired” when a bridge role covers the gap.
• Putting most of their savings into any business without keeping a cushion for the ramp.
• Buying a business without reading how they would eventually sell it.

What should you do next?

Map your dates to 65 and 67, price your health coverage, and decide on a Social Security claiming age before you pick a path. If owning a business is on your list and you’re weighing whether a College Hunks Hauling Junk® franchise fits your goals, talk to the franchise development team and see if your market is still open. We read every inquiry and there’s no pressure, just answers.

This information is not an offer to sell or solicitation to buy a franchise. A franchise offering can only be made through the delivery of a Franchise Disclosure Document. Certain states regulate the offer and sale of franchises; if you are a resident of one of these states, we will not offer you a franchise unless we have complied with applicable pre-sale registration and disclosure requirements in your state.

College Hunks Hauling Junk®, College Hunks Moving®, and the H.U.N.K.S logo are registered trademarks of CHHJ Franchising, L.L.C. © 2026 CHHJ Franchising, L.L.C. All rights reserved.