Sorry, College Grads, But Working ‘Till You’re Old and Grey Is the New Fad
Medical advancements and healthier living mean many people have longer lifespans these days. That means lots of those older Americans are retiring later than in generations past. In fact, some analysts are calling 70 the new 70 in terms of retirement.
Working until later in life is fast becoming the norm, sometimes it’s by choice and sometimes it’s out of need. According to a new survey from AARP and the Society for Human Resource Management, workers in their 50s said they had no plans to wind down their careers, whereas earlier generations in that age group had already started considering phasing into retirement by cutting back to part-time or taking a “hobby job.”
Regardless, many industries — like energy and insurance — welcome the trend because it lets them keep their most experienced workers.
In addition, today’s workers in their 50s place the highest value on flex time, job sharing and formal phased retirement. And by age 70, the number of people working out of desire rather than need roughly doubles, and since they’ve often already saved enough for retirement, they place less value on perks like 401(k)s.
[Time]