No time to retire

HE IS

Back at work.

RETIREMENT? NO THANKS

After he sold his Los Angeles-based manufacturing company, Paul

Bey, 75, realized that he wasn’t cut out for retirement.

“I found myself one those guys who didn’t own a boat or belong to

a country club,” he said. “I didn’t know what to do with my time.”

His wife, Lenore, didn’t know what to do with him. Never in the 55

years of their marriage had she ever had to put up with him around

the house on weekdays. After six months she put her foot down.

“She told me, ‘I don’t want to see you before I get out of bed or

before 6 p.m. at dinner time,’” he said with a laugh. “Get a job.”

And so, he did.

THEY CALL HIM GRANDPA PAUL

After several years of working as a consultant, Bey met Kenneth

Hansen, branch manager of A.G. Edwards who wanted him to work on his

team.

Bey was a staunch supporter of the firm because he came to them

when his retirement portfolio was in disrepair. His broker looked

over his investments, got him back into the game that would preserve

capital ... in short, Bey feels that he saved his bacon.

“A bad broker is like going to a doctor who is too proud to send

you to a specialist,” he said. “This is a great company. They don’t

hustle people and it was one of the reasons why I wanted to work for

them.”

For nearly a year, Bey has put in about 25 to 30 hours a week

keeping in touch with clients, promoting the firm and even recruiting

new talent onto the team. Even though he’s not making the money he

made as an entrepreneur, he’s happy to be back in action.

“Seniors feel not wanted or they have an ego feel that they’re not

going to work for just $10 an hour,” he said. “It doesn’t matter what

you did in the past, it matters what you can do today and in the

future.”

CHANGING WITH THE TIMES

If there’s one thing Bey prides himself most on it’s that he

enjoys change. Ever since he and his wife moved to Los Angeles after

their honeymoon in 1947, he’s seen a lot of it.

“We used to spend our weekends in Laguna,” he said, recalling the

days when he’d treat his daughters to volcano desserts at the Royal

Hawaiian. “This was just a sleepy town. Now this is like little New

York.”

Back then everything was cheap, especially land. In 1976, they

built their home in South Laguna and have watched each passing summer

get busier and busier.

But there’s one thing Bey won’t change. Even though his colleagues

are casual compared to workers in the post-war years, he likes to

keep some things the same.

“I notice some guys not wearing a tie,” he said. “I was born in a

tie.”

-- Story by Mary A. Castillo