For some, it may be because of the need to earn money or to stay socially connected and active. For others, to give them a sense of purpose and enjoyment they get from their job. Working can also provide an opportunity for 'seniors' to share their knowledge, wisdom, and experience with younger generations.
In 2022, 8.2% of people 75 and older were part of the labor force. Their colleagues included 18.4% of the Americans between ages 70 and 74, and 33.3% of those from 65 to 69.
Continuing to work after retiring can help you pay for essential expenses such as housing, food, utilities and health care without using retirement savings. This could enable you to invest some of your savings more aggressively and could allow more “lifestyle” spending.
The top reasons seniors are contemplating going back to work are related to cost of living increasing (69%), boredom (42%), rising housing costs (39%), and paying off non-medical debt (34%). The majority say they are very (26%) or somewhat enthusiastic (53%) about going back to work.
Work brings benefits including self-esteem, companionship, and income. Caring responsibilities, hobbies and interests, relationships in and outside of work, a partner's employment status, and financial security all influence decisions to retire or to continue working.
In fact, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics states that in 2021, the average retiree household spends around $50,000 a year in living expenses.
Work may boost your benefits
Your earnings can increase your monthly benefit amount — even after you start receiving benefits. Each year, we check your earnings record if you continue to work.
Not only do baby boomers have a lifetime of experience, recent LinkedIn survey data shows they're also the least likely generation to feel burnt out on the job — and separate Bain research shows they feel more loyal to their employers than other generations.
Conclusions. We did not find an association between early retirement, compared with continued work participation, and mortality. On-time retirement, compared with working beyond retirement, was associated with a higher risk of mortality.
The research backs up previous research about the typical retirement age, with the nonprofit Employee Benefit Research Institute finding earlier this year that the median retirement age for Americans is 62.
The overwhelming majority of 60-year-olds will live until at least 70, and majorities will get to at least 80. Similarly, very few people who make it to 50 die before they turn 60. As we look at younger and younger cohorts, we see better and better long-term odds as well.
Even so, he noted that people who work into their 80s tend to be the exception rather than the norm. About 26% of people between 65 to 74 are continuing to work, and that number shrinks to about 7.3% for people over 75, according to census data.
The concept of retirement as we know it is changing, and has been for a long time. The number of people working past retirement age has grown consistently since the 1990s. In the US, 32% of people aged 65 to 69 were in work in 2017, far more than the 22% who were working in 1994.
The age group 85 and older is now the fastest growing segment of the U.S. population.
Age 65 has long been considered the typical retirement age, but Americans have different thoughts on when to retire.
Older homeowners who want to downsize have been scared into staying put by how expensive a smaller home would be in the current market. A homeowner who keeps all the profit of a home that sells for $500,000, for example, may find that a condo in their same area, where they can age in place, is $450,000.
Some older workers have to continue working because they have inadequate retirement savings. Other people enjoy working for extra income, social interaction or personal fulfillment.
According to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projections, more and more people age 75 and older are staying in or rejoining the workforce, and 11.7 percent of them are expected to be in the workforce by 2030. But that growth is possible only if employers are willing to hire older adults.
In 2023, housing expenses—mortgage payments, rent, property taxes, insurance, maintenance, and repair costs—averaged $21,445 (approximately $1,787 per month) for retiree households, accounting for over 36% of annual expenditures.
In some states, like Hawaii, that money would only last 2 1/2 years, which is the least bang for your buck. That's followed by other states like Alaska, California, Massachusetts and New York, which would allow that money to last a little over 3 1/2 years.
Let's say you consider yourself the typical retiree. Between you and your spouse, you currently have an annual income of $120,000. Based on the 80% principle, you can expect to need about $96,000 in annual income after you retire, which is $8,000 per month.