Sixty-two percent of seniors who are working past the usual retirement age are doing it for financial reasons, and the other 38 percent say they’re on the job for personal reasons.
Other findings in a recent survey of 1,032 part-time or full-time senior workers (age range: 65 to 85) on work-related topics include:
- 47 percent of working seniors wish they were retired and/or worked fewer hours. The average age that working seniors switched to part-time was 61.
- A third fear being laid off because of age or have experienced stereotyping because of their advanced years. Forty-four percent say physical or mental limitations prevent them from completing job tasks.
- 37 percent say they can’t afford retirement. The average working senior has saved about $133,000 for retirement. The amount is slightly higher among college-educated seniors ($169,180) and lower for non-college-educated seniors ($80,221). Most say Social Security will be their primary source of income after retirement, followed by pensions, personal savings and stocks, and their children or other relatives.
- The average respondent estimates they’ll retire at the age of 72. Reasons why include they enjoy working and would be bored or lonely without a job.
Source: Provision Living, which operates senior living communities in the midwest U.S.