Working In Retirement

Whatever your plans are for retirement in order to ensure you have the quality of life you want for yourself, you should consider discussing your goals with a qualified retirement investment advisor. This individual can offer investment advice that can have a significant impact on your lifestyle after your enter retirement. Your investment advisor will be able to help you forecast how much money you will have available each year based on projections about rate of return at which your assets grow, pace of inflation and your own personal spending habits.

Reasons to Continue Working After Retirement

Supplement Income: The disappearance of traditional company-sponsored pensions along with the decline in retirement savings because of economic crisis means many Americans will be working well into what were traditionally considered retirement years. Adding to the decline in personal wealth is the fact that people are living longer – with the average life expectancy now 78 years – making it harder to save to meet your living needs for a greater number of years. Also if you retire before 65 when you become eligible for Medicare, you may need to work to pay for health insurance.

Fund Leisure Activities: If your dream of retirement includes travel and pursuing hobbies, you might also need additional income from a part-time job to help fund these activities.

Socialization and Stimulation: Work provides a sense of community, which many retired workers miss after leaving the work force, and provides stimulation. Keeping your mind and body active play a big part in your health and wellness so that work may actually keep you going longer and stronger.

Increased Social Security Benefits: Continuing to work and delaying taking your social security until you hit full retirement age could boost your benefits in the long run.

Employment Opportunities for Retirement Workers

The good news is that with the shift in economy to service and information, there are more work retirement options than in previous economies defined by manufacturing and other more physical labors. Furthermore, companies are predicting a talent shortage. The 1990s saw a 14 percent decline in younger workers because of the lower birth rate. Adding to that the workforce has increased only 1.5 to 2.0 percent over the past 20 years.

Employers are increasingly aware that they need to find ways to attract and retain seasoned talent to remain competitive. Older employees offer a diversity of skills, the experience to deal with the needs of mature-age clients and customers, and the capability to train and mentor younger staff. Also research shows that older, mature workers are more loyal, hardworking and reliable.

In order to retain older workers, companies find they need to provide more flexible working opportunities. This can include part time work, telecommuting or project-based consulting – all of which are perfectly suited to retired workers looking for a better work-life balance.

Pursuing Your Dream Job During Retirement

The work options retirement provides also may enable you to finally pursue your dream career –a more creative endeavor than your previous employment or working in the non-profit sector. You may find that you need to go back to school to add some skills to enable you to make the career transition. Whatever you pursue, make sure it’s something you really enjoy.