For a Lot of Reasons, More People are Working Past Retirement Age
While the phrase “working retirement” appears to be an oxymoron, the reality is that men and women reaching the 65-year old retirement age are not ready to pack up their pencils and go home.
For many the decision to work past retirement is a financial one. But that isn’t the only motivator.
“This trend is changing the face of retirement as we know it,” says Susan P. Ascher, president and CEO, The Ascher Group, a Roseland, N.J.-based provider of contract human resources professionals. “As our current workforce, especially the baby boomers, reaches retirement age, more people will be opting into a new working retirement phase of their lives for both financial and self-fulfillment reasons.”
Many find they can’t afford to live on what they have saved, will receive in pension, or may get from Social Security. They may also need supplemental health insurance. The AARP says one in four baby boomers can’t afford to retire. Many Americans plan to postpone retirement because they are concerned about income security as employers continue to cut back on defined benefit pension plans and retiree health benefits.
Others stay at work because they have talents and expertise as well as the youthful vitality to go with it.
Ascher says a working retirement offers the best of both worlds for employers and seniors alike. “People are living longer and healthier – they can and do still have a lot to offer in the working environment.”
Many retirees seeking reentry into the job market are looking for flexibility, lower stress levels, working at a job they enjoy and feeling like they are making a difference.
In 2003, more than 14-percent of 65 and older Americans were employed. And the trend toward working well into retirement will continue as baby boomers are starting to hit retirement age.
Despite laws prohibiting age discrimination, it can still be very difficult for an older worker to compete with the younger workers in today’s job market. This is also why temporary or contract work is so attractive to those interested in a working retirement.
To learn more about The Ascher group, visit www.aschergroup.com.
– By Ed Coury, senior editor and Midwest bureau chief for the Wall Street Journal Radio Network, Dow Jones & Co., and a reporter for WWJ Newsradio 950.
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