Laid off because of Covid-19 virus just before retirement.

[Timothy Lantry]

Happy Easter bigger pockets members! So this is actually happening to a close friend of mine. I am not exactly sure what direction to point him in, so I thought I would open it up for discussion here. He is 67, blue collar worker who started as a welder in his younger years, then had a heart attack, was able to stay with the company and moved into a part supplier position. This is a manufacturing company, he was with them 30 years and got laid off last week due to Covid-19 and no work. He has a 401K that was very low since he borrowed against it to pay medical cost of the heart attack. On top of that his 401K hit him with a 20% penalty to cash it out. Apparently, the age rule only applies to IRA's and not employer 401K. Cash out value after the penalty and it dropping like a rock since it was stock market invested left him with about $8,000. He does get a small social security income. So I explained if he just uses that 8K it will be gone by the end of the year and he will be in a worse situation. So what type of investment would you make with 8K in this strange fear stricken Covid-19 world that we are living in? His wife manages a mobile home park, she hates the headache and doesn't really want to buy and rent one out (although I think it's a great option). The second thought was buying franchise in a small business such as an industrial supply company that he is already familiar with. Given his age though I hate to see him work so hard in a business. What are your thoughts Bigger Pockets community?