According to a study, many people around the age of 65 who could be thinking about retiring are actually moving on to new careers. In many of these cases, they may officially retire from their previous working position. However, instead of heading home to enjoy the rest of their golden years, they’re choosing to remain in the workforce – many of them doing so by venturing into new career paths!
On the positive end, workers are choosing to start a new path even in their later years because they simply want to continue to work. In most cases, these are folks who have reached retirement age but still feel able and willing to continue to work. They retire from their previous place of work because of the financial benefits that they can obtain from doing so. Yet, they turn around and find new avenues that they’d like to pursue. This doesn’t mean, however, that all of the people who chose to remain in the workforce past the age of 65 are doing so out of a “love for work.” Here’s where many of the issues with this current phenomenon start to rear their ugly heads.
There are different types of “employment extenders,” as the survey calls them. As mentioned, those going on to new career paths are typically doing so out of a desire to work. In some cases, they also fall into the category of people who need to work or are worried about their financial futures. The “need to work” category is self-explanatory. These are people who didn’t save enough money for retirement and, therefore, will have to continue in the workforce, sometimes past their 70th birthday. In fact, according to the survey, the 75+ demographic of the workforce is the one that will statistically see the largest growth by 2030.
However, the other “employment extender” is a much more interesting type: the worrier class. These are people who may have enough money in the bank to retire by 65. However, they fear that shifts in the economy will dwindle their savings and, therefore, prevent them from having a financially worry-free retirement. Thus, many of these people are working longer by design. The thinking behind this concept is also a rather simple one. If they retire at 70 instead of 65, they will not only be able to save up more money, but statistically speaking, they’ll live off of their savings for a shorter period of time.
Are “employment extenders” a good thing for the economy and the social structure in general? People who are venturing onto new careers, even post-retirement, are looking for a more active life in their later years. That’s certainly something that they feel will benefit them long term. On the other hand, extending employment years out of necessity can be a real issue moving forward. It may speak to the unpreparedness for retirement among the current population. At the same time, it could present problems for younger generations entering the workforce as they will have to compete for jobs with a much more experienced talent pool. At this point, it’s hard to say which side will “win out.”
You can see the study conducted by Edge Research here.
