Reality soon sank in when Diane Wetherington was ready to think about retiring.
The 72-year-old even considered full-time retirement after considering spending her time crafts and spoiling her grandchildren. However, she quickly discovered that her Social Security benefits, which were lower than those of her contemporaries because of the time she had to take off work to raise her kids, would not be sufficient to pay for travel or growing insurance premiums on top of necessities.
The Central Florida resident is currently employed by the local government as a remote contracting agent on a part-time basis. Even though she occasionally had to cancel plans with friends who are completely retired, she claimed that working has kept her intellect sharp and her budget stable.
Making ends meet is simply becoming increasingly difficult, Wetherington stated. Right now, everything is moving up, up, and up in the world.
Wetherington is among the increasing number of Americans who continue to work past the age of 65, which was formerly considered a standard retirement age. After years of high turnover and worker shortages brought on by the epidemic, this trend has helped the country’s labor market. For those who continue to work in some form, whether out of personal fulfillment or financial need, it has also altered their financial outlook.
A widely read research from the Alliance for Lifetime Income predicts that more Americans will age 65 in 2025 than in any previous year, making this trend more noticeable than ever. The term “Peak 65 zone” refers to a multi-year span in the late 2020s.
A CNBC study of statistics from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that between 2015 and 2024, the number of working Americans 65 and older increased by more than 33%. In contrast, over the same time period, the labor force for all workers aged 16 and over has grown by less than 9%.
As a result of this expansion, employees 65 and older made up 7% of the workforce in 2024. Compared to about 5.7% ten years ago, that share has increased.
According to Jim Malatras, strategy chief at FedCap, a nonprofit that assists in job placement and training, it’s extremely difficult for many employers across a wide range of industries to meet critical workforce demands at the moment. Reaching out to this age group can assist develop critical capability where it is most needed.
An ‘anchor’ for retirement
Although the growing number of workers in this age group—more than 11 million in 2024—has drawn attention recently, the causes of this disproportionate growth go back many years.
According to Laura Quinby, an associate director of Boston College’s Center for Retirement Research, the aging of the American population is the main factor.
However, Quinby noted that structural changes to the retirement system have also promoted working later in life. Many employees needed to stay in their jobs longer as a result of the private sector’s shift from employer-funded pensions to 401(k)s and other defined-contribution plans. The program’s full retirement age was raised from 65 to 67 by Social Security reforms in the 1980s.
According to Quinby, people actually utilize the Social Security full retirement age as a benchmark for determining when to retire and start receiving benefits. People started working longer as a result of that change.
A rising number of people are calling for the retirement age to be pushed back even further due to longer life expectancies, particularly as Social Security’s finances become more dubious. For example, Larry Fink, the chair of BlackRock, stated in an annual letter that it’s a little absurd that the idea of retiring at age 65 dates back to the Ottoman Empire.
However, Teresa Ghilarducci, head of The New School’s Retirement Equity Lab, stated that people of retirement age continue to work in some way for a wide variety of reasons.
Some do retire, but others, driven solely by enthusiasm, continue to work at their favorite jobs. However, she stated that roughly two-thirds of those who are still employed do so out of need. According to her, they may work in occupations that require a lot of mental or physical skills, but they don’t see many other options because their Social Security benefits are insufficient to support them.
Ghilarducci referred to it as the story of two retirements.
‘Vintage cars’
All types of employers have made an effort to attract and keep this expanding pool of talent.
Ten days of annual leave are provided by Booking.com parentBooking Holdings for “grandparent leave,” which is distinct from time off provided to new parents and other paid days off. Wegmans, a grocery store company, offers seniors the chance to stay active and earn money in retirement through a portion of their part-time jobs page dedicated to them.
Retirement-age employees of Xanterra, a vacation agency that owns properties in and around national parks, can be seen welcoming restaurant patrons or working in gift shops. By providing gigs that usually last a month and a half with 30-hour workweeks, the company’s Helping Hands program enables Xanterra to staff up during the busiest travel season.
According to Xanterra’s human resources chief, Shannon Dierenbach, “that older workforce, or the retirement community, is really an integral part of our overall workforce planning strategy.” They undoubtedly contribute a degree of knowledge, insight, life skills, and viewpoint that significantly improves the whole experience.
Advocates claim that a widespread culture of ageism has nevertheless harmed these Americans in the workplace in spite of these examples. FedCap’s Malatras compared them to vintage vehicles. Although they are valuable and long-lasting, they are frequently regarded like high-mileage Pintos and no longer have many opportunities to serve.
According to Heather Tinsley-Fix, senior advisor for employer engagement at AARP, companies looking to better market to this group can examine job descriptions and images on their jobs pages to make sure there aren’t any subliminal indications they favor younger applicants. She frequently urges companies seeking older employees to sign the AARP spledge, which commits companies to age equality initiatives.
Given that a lower percentage of this pool finished higher education than earlier generations, she suggested that removing the necessity for a college degree can also assist attract their interest. One important aspect of flexibility that these older workers might require is working from home, according to Tinsley-Fix.
Tinsley-Fix makes the case for employers in part because of the looming retirement tsunami that is anticipated to occur over the next ten years. She cautioned that businesses will find it difficult to maintain full staffing if they don’t reach out to groups they previously ignored because not enough people join the workforce annually to replace those who leave.
But her pitch isn’t entirely pessimistic. The bright side, according to Tinsley-Fix, is that these employees can train younger employees and are often excellent at soft skills. According to Dierenbach, retirement-age employees at Xanterra’s locations, for instance, have exceptional customer service skills and maintain composure under duress.
According to Tinsley-Fix, people discuss the various benefits that come with having senior employees on their teams. Having those people is incredibly beneficial to them.
‘The best thing that ever happened to me’
There are several reasons why people choose to stay in their jobs. Several employees in this age range told CNBC that they had benefited both physically and psychologically, regardless of the original justification—financial necessity or personal preference—that led them to remain or return to work.
Shari Nelson, who started working with nonprofit Vantage Aging through its government-sponsored job placement program and was recruited to stay on after finishing it, said it was the finest thing that had happened to her.
The part-time employee from Ohio claimed that the income gives her the stability she needs to be the kind of grandma that previous generations of her family have been. In order to better accommodate senior workers, Vantage divided Nelson’s previously full-time role into two positions with shorter hours.
According to data from payroll provider Gusto, toward the end of 2024, more than one out of every twelve employees in this age group were employed by nonprofits, making them the most popular industry. The company discovered that since January 2019, the percentage of small firms employing people 65 and older has increased by more than 50%.
Another popular topic, according to Gusto, is government. After deciding that a full retirement wasn’t for her, Anne Sallee, a former public official who now lives in Florida, found herself in that situation.
following more than ten years away, Sallee, who now works as an economic development coordinator following a lengthy career as a paralegal, said the return to face-to-face office work was unexpected. However, she said the personal benefits of having deadlines and a routine, as well as a passion for the role, keep her coming back.
Sallee remarked, “I don’t like not having things I have to do.” The lifestyle of sitting on the beach with your feet up and sipping cocktails is something I never imagined.
However, Sallee stated that she has taken some risks that she might not have done when beginning a new job or early in her career. For example, the 68-year-old takes a three-week vacation every year and refrains from working extra.
Regarding her annual leave, she stated that the vacation will come first if that ever becomes an issue.
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