A study released by the Pew Research Center shows that more Americans over the age of 65 are heading back to work. The reason? They need the money. Twice as many people over 65 are still working than earlier generations of 35 years ago, Pew reported.
For decades, Baby Boomers lingered in the workforce, much to the complaints of younger generations wishing they’d retire and make room at the top of organizations.
Now, reasons older Americans say they are going back to work include changes in Social Security benefits, which forces people to work past age 65 in order to receive full benefits, lack of savings, increased inflation, and a shift away from defined benefit plans that reward people for retiring early.
In 2022, the average worker over the age of 65 was making about $22 an hour, compared to the average wage for those 25-64, which was $19 an hour. Since 2022, wage inflation has had an impact on those salaries, and so has inflation’s pressure on retired people’s savings.
In addition, there are more jobs for people who want to work, and older workers are viewed as having better work ethic than Generation X, Y, or Z.
Duh. We like things like food on the table and heat in the house.
And of course rather than save and invest so we would have something for retirement we spent like drunken sailors all our lives…..
No, we didn’t. We sacrificed and saved. Some of us raised kids without government subsidies (WIC, SNAP, heating assistance, etc.) and tried to teach them the same. We planned for some liberties after retirement. But old Joe and his handlers sure took care of that! My kids all have good jobs and live independently.
We’ve also lived through the economic collapse of 08. Destroyed savings, ruined investments, savaged 401k’s for the few had them then.
Right on! Worked like a dog, never owned toys, raised my kids. Bob is probably a W2 employee that didn’t have to run a business. I was in great shape until Biden. 32% inflation? Nobody can plan for Weirmar republic money printing.
Actually, I was a sole Proprietor for the last 23 years and am now happily retired.
Speak for yourself, Bob.
Some may have experienced events like layoffs, mergers, acquisitions, change of management, change of ideologies, changing technologies. It’s not just drunken sailors that feel the pain. Be real.
Really? Wow. I guess you’ve missed the part where our investments took a nose dive in value since 2020…returns rate not keeping up with the inflation rate…you know that inflation spurred on by stimulus money for all thosr millenials and gen Xers that just didn’t want to work because they might catch cold.
Speak for yourself, as a GenX er I have worked since the day I turned 16 because my absent boomer parents were too busy to be bothered to do anything other than make me and treat me like a human pet. In the 34 year since I have never been out of work and often worked 2 jobs. The majority of the Gen Xers I know have always worked, but then many of them were not from Alaska originally
Not true. There was no opportunity to save in a 401 k type of retirement, that wasn’t mainstream until well into the 1980’s. The amount of time those of us had no pensions nor any other retirement option put many of us far behind. The things that are around now weren’t then and the things that were there then for our parents were on the way out before we got to that age.but hey, don’t research anything and believe what you like.
Yes, 401K’s were not around but nothing prevented one from making investments in Bonds, Stocks and hard goods. Lots of people did just fine sinking money into real estate or metals…
Bob, I agree with you. I blew a couple of hard earned fortune’s in my misspent youth. There were then and still are now plenty of opportunities to accumulate wealth.
What is good about these younger generations is that given their overall performance, an old guy can still make the cut!
And we have a sense of responsibility to take care of ourselves. Instead of relying on the government and entitlements. Generations X, Y and Z can’t even show up for work. Let alone on time. I’m seeing that in stores time and time again.
Look at the good fortunes politicians have gave us. We should be so proud of our politicians that have let us into this century with all these problems, and no extra money.
Employers know we are more dependable.
Baby boomers learned from their parents. No work no food.
Retirement Social Security is a result of one’s lifetime contributions, and if these funds had been managed properly they would have been plenty enough to ensure the essentials in our old age. So many are tapping into this money who have contributed little to nothing. What about the people who contributed fifty years or more, working hard all of lives in labor and now are plumb worn out and being taxed out of their homes? All they seek is the money that they put in, not a free ride, not charity. Nowadays young people can draw SS disability money for hurt feelings while grandparents are soaking beans.
I agree with AK… Duh. joe brandon ripped me off for a half mil – so off to work I go. Two jobs, because $25/hr is not enough, and social insecurity heavily taxes your earnings through medicare part B. 38% of my social security goes to medicare.
Got to get the jobs while we can…won’t be long before Joe’s guest will be filling those position.
And as tier 1, 2, 3 retirement programs in Alaska fade away, we’ll see more and more people working later in life.
Senior Contributor forgot to give us their name and pronouns. Next.
Just shows you Bidennomics is working
Odd as this may sound…….Some people just enjoy work. I’m just sayin 🙂
One can only tax the people for so long before he begins running out of money for government employees. Baby boomers been using the excuse kicking their adult children to the curb expecting government to pay for them. They never expected they’ll be working longer so they can still provide for their adult kids’ generation.
It’s STILL not too late for this state and nation to make working age GenZ, Millennials, and GenX’ers work. It’s up to the status quo bureaucrats who vote for the leaders who campaign on tax for government services like fire, police, and road snow plowing delaying all of them to have a retirement or the right to slow down because of aging.
I’m a millennial and I know I won’t be retiring as long as my generation, the generations before and after me refuse to work for the long term. So I been trying to take care of myself not overworking myself, not being as my helpful self, since I need the endurance, mental stamina, and physical strength lasting for however long I have to live even if that’s 88 like a dear lady I know she retired at 88 from phone directory switchboard operator. Cause that’s when her body told her she must retire too slow down and prepare for meeting Jesus.
As long as we have a bloated government. You ain’t retiring.
The shoeshiners always work for the “man”–a perfect polish for the buck! “Put your back into, bud, there’s an extra nickel in it for you!”
I have retired 4 times. Why? I have been called out of retirement by others. First of all they know the over 65 group is not going to be really pro-union, don’t worry about hours worked but job done. We show up for work, don’t smell like pot, and don’t automatically think we should get a pay increase. Most of us just have a different view of what a worker should do for their salary.
Someone has to save this country 🇺🇸🇮🇱
The price of voting Democrat. Every thing has increased in price – from gas, to groceries, to utilities. Biden’s policies are killing Americans’ budget. Like or don’t like Trump, America ran better under a businessman than a career politician. Both are criminals, both are narcissists – but ask yourself did you live better then or now.
The gen whatevers bitch about us in the workplace, out of the workplace, wherever. The one thing they go silent on is our ability to outwork kids 1/2 our age. They worry about pronouns and their feelings. We just work.
But give credit to Grandpa Bloodstains. I was happily retired under Trump. Bidenomics may well get me back to work. Like Obama said, never underestimate Grandpa Bloodstains ability to F things up.
The youngins don’t have a work ethic
Also another reason why Boomers are invaluable is you all were trained first by WW2 generation the generation born in the late 1920’s. Just for humility though. Boomers you were the ones who trained and parented GenX, Millennials, and GenZ. I remember growing up a lot of you weren’t “present” while parenting my generation the millennials, and your generation were impatient and critical with us as kids and when we were young adults entering our twenties. Your generation would just do things for us when we were young because of impatience and exasperation. Now, boomers you getting too old to continue doing things for us. With more boomers returning the workforce this could be your generation’s second chance from God to retrain GenX, millennials, and GenZ. Don’t waste it with more complaining, criticizing, and judging. Just like I encouraged one grandmother here having to take care of her grandson and granddaughter because she wasn’t a good parent to their mother-her daughter-, I said this is God’s second chance to you to be a parent to a new generation. Her eyes were filled with so much hope.
You sound exactly like a typical millenial…blaming your situation on someone else.
Guess what. Only YOU are responsible for getting yourself into and out of situations.
Teach yourself.
This is your second opportunity from God to learn, not our second opportunity to teach.
You ignored us the first time, now it’s up to you to learn the hard way. It was ALWAYS your choice.
For boomers returning and returning into supervisory roles, GenZ members would be easier to reteach because of their lacking life experience. But they require a lot of patience and consistency from their supervisors. Same thing with training or retraining millennials a lot of patience and consistent training to relearn the right way and seeing the trainer is consistent performing the duties the right way not cheating and cutting corners. The younger generations they need to see the supervisors and the returning boomers working the correct way the supervisor not goofing off, not passing “menial” work onto the the newbies not passing it on to senior more experienced workers just because they are stronger, not being dishonest and lazy, and not belittling them for our generations incompetence, laziness, and inexperience.
As a “Boomer”, I appreciate your perspective. There is a lot of alignment in the observation of the difference in being (or seeing) a good vs bad example of adult workplace behaviors.
This inspires me to be less critical of “youngsters”.
“Actions speak louder than words”. cliche but true..
As usual a millennial thinking that they are THE GENERATION. Well, snowflake, us Gen Xers didn’t need ” patience and understanding”. We got the full Monty Boomer train us who was pi$$ed off at the world, cussed us out, actually physically threat us at times (yes we did on occasion “go behind the shop”) and we worked two or three jobs to get by. We climbed the “ladder” by tooth and nail. Now we hear you wussys whine…Grow Up.
Let’s not forget that those in the article are the ones paying for the NOT so affordable “ affordable healthcare act”, paying for all the non emergency “ emergency room “ visits for those that don’t pay a dime of their own money.
What is with the “Gen X” needs work ethic stuff?? As a very Gen Xer, I have seen my generation take over from the boomers when they finally left the job. The boomers who lived beyond their means and stayed in the workforce way too long. I’ve seen my generation get passed over for promotions to millennials due to the boomers wanting the millennial’s “tech experience/degrees” over our Gen Xers “work experience” which the boomers taught us! We are the last generation to show up.
So what you’re saying is we worked longer, harder, and knew more.
Promise you, if the Xers had offered a desired mix of experience, work ethic, and skill you’d have been promoted.
Just showing up and expecting the world to reward you over others. Classic Xers.
I find it interesting you think we lived beyond our means. Another classic sign of Gen X. No clue about the world that existed before them. Too inconvenient.
I don’t think you actually know many Gen Xers there Masked Avenger, None of the early Gen Xers got the “participation” trophies you boomers love to talk about. I was born in 74 and raised through the 80’s your Boomer generation did little to help your children other than cycle through marriages, & Marlboro’s
I’ve seen many a fellow “sloper” in their 60’s who should have made more then enough to retire but needed their second and third yearly trip to Costa Rico and their new toys. That is what I mean from Living beyond their means. Like I say, we are the ones who showed up, did the job, was told to tow the line and everything will be great in the end. Then pensions went the way of the dodo, but you can have this 401k that may or may not be there later. It is interesting that when the facts are pointed out others tend to throw mud. Just remember, us Gen Xers didn’t need you as kids, we learned from you boomers as young adults and we really don’t need any of the previous or post generations. We are and will always be the survivors
Welcome, bro…
The National Debt is nearing $34,000,000,000,000.00 that’s 34 TRILLION DOLLARS. Inflation over the last three years has been somewhere around 22%.
Not enough people understand the concept of saving money, instead we’ve borrowed for everything whether it was needed or not.
bidenomics sure are great!
worthless, just like bribe-em!
It took 3 months to add a trillion to the debt. It was at 33 trillion in early October 2023.
Something, something “Gradually, then suddenly.”
Our country is being looted at a record pace, and wealth is being destroyed in the process (making the path clear for digital currency). It is time for guillotines, as the elite don’t want to -or can’t- learn.
My money is on can’t as they are so debauched they can’t come back.
As my pappy used to say – “Ya better git ya 20 acres and a mule, ( or a skiff and a gillnet) cuz the money’s all gone”.
The game of musical chairs is rigged. The sheep need another shearing.
Its always good for parents to teach their children how to be independent and learn the older methods before life got easier with more advanced technology. The less government a family receives either through a paycheck or through other avenues the best. (The PFD is excluded cause that supposed to keep government accountable not to practice greed hogging it all)
There is a verse in the Bible that instructs: If you won’t work, you shall not eat.
The bible didn’t count on Democrats giving free everything to those who won’t work.
Planning for the future starts in your 20s, not your 50s or 60s. I retired the month I turned 60 because I planned for my retirement and almost 10 years later I still haven’t worked a day since. Even if Social Security gets reduced in 10 years or goes away altogether I still won’t have any financial problems. But I started planning for my eventual retirement a long time ago.
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