Dire lot troubled about money for long-serving type (3-5)
I believe the answer is:
old-timer
'long-serving type' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this defines the answer.
'dire lot troubled about money' is the wordplay.
'troubled' is an anagram indicator.
'about' indicates putting letters inside.
'money' becomes 'm' (abbreviation in economics).
'dire'+'lot'='direlot'
'direlot' anagrammed gives 'oldtier'.
'oldtier' enclosing 'm' is 'OLD-TIMER'.
'for' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for old-timer that I've seen before include "Very long-serving person" , "Veteran, elderly person" , "Man of long experience" , "Male with long experience, maybe a prospector" .)