Why Do Seniors and Baby Boomers Want Retirement Jobs?

Posted In: Employer Resources · By: Ian Dimerman · Date: 4 Sep 2007

Why Do Seniors and Baby Boomers Want Retirement Jobs?
The reasons people give for wanting retirement jobs fall into four basic categories:

• MONEY—The chance to earn supplemental income is one of the main reasons people want retirement jobs. By earning extra money at a part-time retirement job or business, retirees can stretch their pensions, afford a few luxuries they might otherwise be forced to forgo, and in some cases lower their health care costs by receiving employer-sponsored medical coverage.

• LOVE—Some people want retirement jobs because they just love to work. Especially for people whose work is creative and offers them a lot of autonomy—such as entrepreneurs, writers, artists, and consultants—work is often so much a part of their lives and what they do, and a source of so much personal satisfaction, that being without a retirement job holds little or no appeal.

• FRIENDS—For people who are outgoing and love to interact with other people every day, retirement jobs may provide a vibrant social life and a built-in network of professional colleagues and potential friends.

• FEAR—Some people have devoted themselves so completely to work before retirement that they prefer to keep working at retirement jobs as long as possible to delay any need to adjust to a different lifestyle. Without a well-developed support network of friends and family, or a plan for retirement activities they want to pursue, retirement jobs may feel like the safest alternative.