A Colorado Ski Resort Will House a 66-Year-Old Lift Operator for $700 a Month. Rent in Town Will Be $2,400
At 66, a Colorado lift operator is staring down a housing decision that could quietly determine whether his retirement portfolio survives the decade, and the stakes have almost nothing to do with the rent itself.
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A 66-year-old lift operator at a Colorado ski resort has two housing options for the coming winter. Employee housing on the mountain costs $700 per month. An apartment in town costs $2,400 per month. At this age, that choice decides how hard a retirement portfolio has to work for the next several years.
This is a common setup. Plenty of people in their 60s take seasonal mountain jobs for the ski pass, the routine, and the paycheck, and many arrive with an IRA or 401(k) they want to protect and Social Security still unused. The housing offer is the biggest financial tool in the whole arrangement, bigger than the hourly wage.
Why Mountain Rents Can Drain a Retirement Account Fast
Colorado already runs expensive. Its cost-of-living index measures about 103, against a national average of 100, and resort towns run far above the statewide figure. New supply is scarce, too. U.S. housing starts slipped to 1.27M annualized in August, down about 3% from a month earlier. Consumer prices rose another 0.4% in the latest monthly reading.
For context, the average American household spent $78,535 on everything in 2024. A $2,400 rent check takes a large share of a budget like that before food, health insurance, or a truck that can handle mountain roads.
Cheap Housing Comes Attached to the Job
The $700 unit is cheap because it belongs to the employer, and a knee injury, a low-snow shutdown, or the end of the season can take the bed away with the job. Town rent costs more, but the lease stays yours.
The math favors the mountain anyway. Every month in resort housing, the gap between $700 and $2,400 stays invested instead of going to a landlord. If that rent would otherwise come from a traditional IRA, the real cost runs higher still, because each withdrawal is taxed as ordinary income. Paying town rent from pre-tax money means pulling out more than the rent to net the rent.
Waiting Social Security Is Where the Savings Pay Off
Someone who is 66 now has a full retirement age of 67. Waiting past that age earns delayed retirement credits of 8% per year until age 70, locked in for life and adjusted for inflation. Claiming early while still working can also trigger the earnings test, which reduces benefits above an annual income limit.
Path 1: Take the Resort Housing and Bridge to 70
This is the stronger path for most people. Low rent keeps withdrawals small, which keeps the portfolio intact and makes waiting Social Security affordable. Low-income years before required minimum distributions begin at 73 also open a window for Roth conversions at modest tax rates. If the traditional IRA balance is large enough that future RMDs would push income into higher brackets, hiring a planner or CPA for a flat fee to model conversions can return far more than the cost.
The catch is risk. Plan a backup for the off-season. Whether that is a van, a family member, or a short-term rental in a cheaper town, keep several months of town-level rent in cash.
Path 2: Rent in Town for Stability
This fits a narrow group: people who plan to stay year-round and already have a pension or claimed Social Security covering the rent. For everyone else, it drains the portfolio during the exact years it should be growing and often pressures an early claim to cover the lease.
Tax Question to Ask HR Before Signing
Lodging on the employer’s premises, required as a condition of the job and provided for the employer’s convenience, can often be excluded from taxable income. If the arrangement fails those tests, the gap between $700 and fair rental value may show up as taxable wages on your W-2. Ask how the resort reports it. A surprise fringe-benefit tax bill can wipe out part of the discount and raise income in a year you planned for a Roth conversion.
Two Decisions That Matter Most Right Now
First, get the housing terms in writing. Find out how much notice you receive if employment ends, whether you can stay between seasons, and what happens after an injury. That single answer determines how much cash backup you need.
Second, avoid the most expensive mistake in this scenario: signing a 12-month lease in town and then claiming Social Security early to pay for it. That trades a temporary rent problem for a permanently smaller check. For most people in this spot, the $700 unit, low withdrawals, and a growing benefit form the stronger combination.
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Jake has been been working in financial media for almost 15 years. He focuses on all things personal finance for 24/7 Wall St. with high hopes to educate and entertain. Most recently, Jake spent 12 years working various roles at The Motley Fool. He started copy editing fool.com content, worked on premium and marketing campaigns, and helped launch The Ascent, a personal finance brand.
His work has been featured on platforms like MSN, Yahoo Finance, USA Today, and more. He's written about credit cards, social security, ETFs, savings accounts, and just about anything else you can imagine when thinking about money. Jake love to cook, play golf, and tell people he's never had a cavity. (It's true!)
