Richard Smith is 81 years old, but he’s not taking his well-deserved rest. Instead, he spends his golden years with his wife living in a motorhome for half the year. This vehicle is their home for six months, as well as their base of operations. They don’t travel for pleasure, but out of pure economic necessity. Their life is marked by something known as “workamping.” For people like Richard, workamping involves seasonal jobs, often in parks or campgrounds, where they receive free accommodation on their RV lot along with a supplementary salary.
Although he now works as a night ranger in a New Hampshire park, Richard was a film industry professional and former technical director in Hollywood for prominent companies such as Eastman Kodak. His story is one of many stark portraits of the “new retirement” in the 21st century.
His story from the beginning
Richard Smith began working in 1963. He accumulated more than three decades of experience in film and management in Italy until he retired in 2009.
He and his wife had dreamed of a life of travel, but their plans were thwarted by financial problems. They had invested in several projects that had failed, and the accumulation of debt forced them to modify their initial retirement plan. Their new nomadic working life is due to a considerable financial burden: Richard estimates that his total debt amounts to around $350,000. This includes a mortgage on his Florida home and credit cards that he had to use. The fact is that his Social Security pension income ($3,000 per month) is not enough to cover all his monthly fixed expenses.
To add fuel to the fire, his savings are almost non-existent. He has less than $20,000 in his IRA account and virtually no liquid savings. That’s why Richard and his wife work constantly despite being 81 years old. While he works as a night ranger, she is responsible for cleaning cabins, bathrooms, and laundry facilities at the campground. To supplement their income, Mr. Smith has also worked as a driver for services such as Door Dash.
Richardson Smith is honest; his age and health limit the types of work he can do. He recently had to resort to credit cards to pay for carpal tunnel surgery. An unexpected expense like this can completely destabilize already fragile finances. In the most drastic case, the couple is even considering selling their property in Florida.
This would allow them to pay off debts and live permanently in the RV… Although it is not the retirement they had dreamed of.
Nomad-working reality for many Americans
This is not an isolated case; Richard Smith’s story reflects a nationwide retirement crisis. Older people are unable to accumulate sufficient savings, or were among the first to be hit by the financial crisis. The phenomenon of World camping is a lifeline in the storm of the current economic situation.
The reality is far from hidden; it has even been captured on film. One of the best examples is the Oscar-winning film Nomadland (2020). The film, starring Frances McDormand, shows people who, after losing everything in the Great Recession, decide to live in vans and trailers. Although the film sometimes romanticizes this lifestyle, at its core it is a silent critique of the economic precariousness of the elderly. The film shows the reality of precarious or seasonal jobs, such as packing orders in Amazon warehouses or working in national parks.
Mr. Smith’s courage in sharing his financial vulnerability should serve as a constructive warning to younger generations. In an era where we live in a kind of financial hedonism, it is essential to remember that at some point we will become more fragile and will not be able to work as hard as we do now. The present is the best time to start saving and investing to ensure that we have a financial cushion later in life.