My Parents Can’t Afford to Retire Early, and I’m Terrified They’ll Have to Start Working Again

Not everyone can, or should, go back to work

A resident of a senior living community in Arlington, Virginia listens to a band play a socially-distanced concert. Photo: Andrew Caballero-Renolds/Getty Images

The line at Trader Joe’s wrapped around the store that morning. I sized up the queue from inside my mom’s car, bug-eyed, sweating, contemplating whether joining the throng was worth the risk. It wasn’t the rain that thwarted me. It…