I’m a Retiree: This Is the Best Thing I’ve Done With My Social Security Check
Written by
Andrew Lisa
Edited by
Amber Barkley
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Generations of gifted wordsmiths have dreamed about writing the next great American novel. But even the most talented scribes usually start out as starving artists, and many tap out before their ambition pays off because work, bills, kids and life get in the way as years, decades and, eventually, their artistic aspirations pass them by.
But GOBankingRates spoke with two retirees who are living proof that it’s truly never too late — particularly when you leverage your Social Security checks as fuel for your dreams.
The following stories are from a former corporate employee and a career attorney who used their retirement benefits to will their long-held literary passions into reality.
Their post-career lives prove that — with talent, persistence and a monthly Social Security check — everyone can write the final chapter of their own stories.
The Pandemic Signals the End of One Career and the Start of Another
Michelle DeMarco is a recent retiree who began collecting Social Security benefits when she turned 67 in 2023. Like so many older workers during the COVID-19 crisis — particularly aging women — involuntary retirement became a side effect of the virus.
“During the pandemic, I was downsized from my position at a Fortune 100 company,” said DeMarco.
That company was MassMutual, where DeMarco served as a visual media designer working as part of a 12-person corporate communication team. She and her team used their skills to bring web pages, marketing materials, articles and social media platforms to life with visual conceptualization.
Then, as quickly as COVID-19 spread, her career was over — but DeMarco was just getting started.
Benefits Bring a Passion Project to Life
DeMarco’s long service to a major company put her in a good position to delay claiming Social Security until she reached full retirement age. Not content to sit idle while she waited, she hatched a plan to pursue her long-held literary passions while her benefits matured.
“I had some money in several 401(k)s,” said DeMarco. “Given the circumstances and my good fortune to have excellent health and energy, I wanted to continue contributing. So, I founded an indie publishing company.”
That company was llamaGoose Studios, where she serves as the founder and creative director.
A women-owned company in western New England, the studio is rooted in DeMarco’s love of nature. It creates and produces high-end artisanal coloring books, which incorporate animals, insects and the natural world into their themes and imagery, all made with environmentally sustainable materials.
None of it would have been possible if she had to rely on her retirement accounts alone.
“I am growing this business and thoroughly enjoying using my intelligence, creativity, and, yes, the base of my Social Security,” said DeMarco.
An Attorney By Trade, a Writer at Heart
Mark Bello retired in his late 60s after practicing law for more than 40 years. A longtime civil justice advocate, Bello has spent decades leveraging his position as an attorney to promote equity and fairness in the criminal justice system and society at large.
But he’s spent decades pondering another passion that he had to sideline but never stopped nurturing.
“In my 30s, I handled a case I thought might make a compelling novel, but life got in the way,” said Bello. “My wife and I had four children, and my practice kept me quite busy.”
Social Security Revives a Dream That Spent 30 Years Smoldering
Decades later, Bello’s children aged into adulthood, his legal practice wound down and the hectic pace of his life lost momentum — and that’s when his long-dormant dream of writing about his exciting career began gnawing at him once again.
Luckily, he had a steady source of side income to fan the flames of his passion.
“After I retired, I used some of my Social Security money to fulfill that bucket list item,” said Bello.
After penning the book that he’d long dreamed about writing, the passion became an obsession, and Bello was working full-time once again — but this time, he was unencumbered by time, responsibility and financial obligations. The result was a tidal wave of creative output — and thanks to Social Security, he can write without caring whether his passion will pay, although it certainly has.
“I wrote my first novel in 2019,” he said. “Since then, I’ve written nine Zachary Blake legal thrillers, a cozy legal mystery and two children’s books in four years. I also have a blog and a podcast. Not bad for a ‘retired’ person. I’m having a ball.”
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