4 Reasons Americans Over Retirement Age Are the Fastest Growing Workforce — And How Long They’re Expected To Work
By many measures, such as when you’re eligible for Social Security benefits, retirement age is often viewed to be roughly 62-67. But an increasing share of Americans are blowing way past that mark.
Today, 9% of individuals 75-plus are still working, up from 4% in 1987, according to Pew Research. Altogether, Americans ages 75 and older are the fastest-growing age group in the workforce.
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For some, there’s no age limit in sight. An Axios/Ipsos poll found that 20% of Americans think they’ll never retire — primarily due to financial concerns, but nearly one-fifth within this group simply want to keep working.
Also, working later in life doesn’t always mean continuing the same career that you started out in. Many people retire from their main career but then move into a second act, like starting a new business or finding employment in an area they find enjoyable. This second act doesn’t have to be as demanding as the first.
The Axios/Ipsos poll also found that 40% of unretired Americans would like to work for as long as possible without fully retiring.
The reasons behind these shifts can be multifaceted, especially when digging deeper than headline concerns over not having enough saved to retire or simply wanting to keep working past the typical retirement age. Some of the top reasons that could explain why those 75-plus are the fastest-growing workforce segment include the following.
The Changing Nature of Work
Jobs themselves are changing, which can make more positions hospitable to older Americans. Pew Research points out how older workers often want less physically strenuous jobs, and a National Bureau of Economic Research analysis shows that around 75% of occupations have become more age-friendly since 1990, such as by becoming more flexible and requiring less physical work.
Also, the changing nature of work means that it’s become more common to job hop, and by the time someone reaches 75, it might not feel strange to jump into a new career path.
“My Dad came home from World War II military service in 1950, took off his uniform, went to work for Union Carbide Corp. as a research chemist, and emerged 40 years later with a gold watch and pension. By contrast, I’ve had seven real jobs, in addition to self-employment, throughout my adult life,” said Bill Catlette, partner at Contented Cow Partners, a leadership and workforce advisory.
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Mental Health Benefits
Continuing to work later in life can potentially provide mental health benefits, such as by providing opportunities for more socialization and keeping your mind sharp. That could be keeping more seniors in the workforce.
Catlette, currently 72, said he has every intention of remaining productive in the years to come.
“I work hard, still 50+ hours per week, but I enjoy it,” he said. “Besides, I can’t fish or golf all day every day, and the thing I’m most scared of is the prospect of becoming irrelevant because my pace of learning slows unacceptably.”
Increased Ease of Reskilling
Older workers also have more opportunities now to gain new skills later in life that enable them to keep working, perhaps in new fields. You can easily take online courses to gain new certifications, and you can learn many of the ins and outs of areas like coding or digital marketing by watching YouTube videos and reading blogs.
“With learning of most types now multiplatformed, even us geezers will be continually reskilling and looking for additional venues to acquire and deploy new knowledge and skills,” Catlette said. “If you can get paid to get good at something, why not? As a case in point, my current lack of knowledge about AI is unsettling, and I intend to do something about that this summer.”
Retirement Portfolios Aren’t Keeping Up With Costs
Lastly, many older Americans stay in the workforce because they don’t have enough retirement income. That’s not necessarily because their expenses increase past age 75, but instead, many people simply don’t have enough saved, especially amid rising costs.
Part of the challenge is that previous generations were more likely to have pensions, but now workers often have to manage retirement planning on their own through defined contribution plans. Yet inflation even affects those with traditional pensions, as the payouts might be a fixed amount, thereby reducing the purchasing power of each distribution.
That, combined with these other factors, creates a perfect storm that encourages many people to keep working.
“Given the changing context of work, where and how it is done, and leaner pensions, the prospect of being productive, interacting with others — or not — and making some needed money is likely attractive to many seniors. Persistently high living costs in the U.S. are also fanning those flames,” Catlette said.
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