The title on my uncle’s LinkedIn profile attracted my attention and made me chuckle.
“Retired for the Fourth Time.”
My uncle, like many Americans, never fully retired (until recently). Instead, he took breaks along the way but stayed active and employed and even tried new professions and places to live. So the question is, why not?
Of the roughly 59 million Americans aged 65 and older, about 13 million are still working. And among them, an estimated 5 million have “unretired” and returned to work.
Retirement is no longer just a party, gold watch and fixed income while you sit at home. More Americans are returning to work or postponing retirement, whether driven by finances or purpose.
The top four reasons for returning to work are rising cost of living, boredom, housing expenses and paying off debt. I would add that, for many of us, working is an essential part of our identity, and we do not want to give it up.
Rethinking retirement
Not long ago, I went to a party with friends who had recently moved into a 55+ community. What surprised me was how many of their dinner guests had returned to work, not because they needed the money, but because they were thinking ahead.
While they still had their health, they were continuing to work to contribute to their savings. For them, working a few more years was a strategic choice to stay active while extending the life of their retirement and to, hopefully, increase their comfort in later years.
Start with a pen and paper
First, drill down on how much you need or want to make annually, monthly, weekly and hourly.
How many hours are you willing to work, and what hours would be ideal?
What will you give up to work those hours (free time, travel, caring for grandchildren)? What is your hourly required minimum pay rate? Is that a reasonable amount, and is it worth going back to work for?
A clear target before looking for a job will give you the confidence and clarity you will need to negotiate terms. Also, be sure to notify your financial and tax advisors and discuss your plans with them.
If you worked in an office in marketing, accounting, writing or IT and want to scope out what contract-based work or short-term assignments are available to test the waters, try a platform like Upwork. I have hired many seniors on Upwork to work on projects with excellent results. You can search your geographic area and position to get an idea of hourly rates you can charge.
They want you back
Sometimes, the opportunity to return to work comes from your past.
Another uncle retired from an aerospace company in his late 50s. While in retirement, he worked part-time for a few years for a beach city in a primarily outdoor, low-stress job. Then, when he was in his 70s, his previous aerospace employer called him, asking if he would want to return. They were struggling to find qualified workers and offered him a signing bonus, excellent pay and a flexible schedule.
My uncle did not accept, but just for fun, he filled out a few interest forms online with other employers to see what they would offer. Their responses gave him a boost, and he happily exclaimed that he was still wanted.
Unemployment is currently low, and employers in many industries, like aerospace, healthcare, education and skilled trades are facing hiring challenges and actively recruiting retirees. Older employees bring with them not just maturity but decades of experience and reliability.
Even if you had a physical job, they still need your knowledge. When one client was hired back by a cellular company he had retired from, he no longer had to climb the satellite towers. What they needed was for him to give instructions to the younger employees on what to do. In some cases, you can move from physically doing to consulting or teaching.
Try something new
One of my bosses from college — a high-power vice president at a large cosmetics company — took a marketing position with flexible hours and travel perks working with a not-for-profit service dog organization after she retired.
It was meaningful, energizing work that let her apply her leadership skills in a whole new setting with less stress and fewer hours, and she could bring her dog.
Unretiring could be your chance to take your skills and apply them to something new in a different atmosphere for reasons other than profit.
Cut back before retiring
A dear friend, who was an attorney and a recent widower, found himself lost as one day flowed into the next with sadness and boredom when he retired suddenly after his wife passed. As his friends, we noticed he was physically and mentally deteriorating.
I asked him to help me with a large project, because I thought it was a shame that all of his knowledge and experience were being wasted.
We had fun, so he took on some other new projects and eventually began going into the office in the early mornings. His rule was that he left at noon no matter what. He still had half of the day to enjoy lunch and golf at his club with friends. From that point on, he had no further plans to retire completely.
His advice to me in my 50s was to forget retirement.
He said I should immediately cut back on work hours, start to take vacations so my clients would get used to me being gone, and be selective and only accept projects that interested me. He claimed that if I did all of that, I could keep my health and continue working well into my eighties. It was excellent advice I now follow.
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There is no need for us to retire in our 60s or 70s, if we do not want to, as long as we are healthy. This week, the media repeatedly referred to the new pope, at 69, as young.
If you decide to return to work, you will bring with you a lifetime of wisdom, relationships, and perspective to an organization. That has value. Whether you use it to consult in your old field, help a cause you care about, or start something entirely new, your next role doesn’t have to look anything like your last one.
So maybe instead of retiring, you should consider just changing jobs.
Michelle C. Herting is a CPA, accredited in business valuations, and an accredited estate planner specializing in succession planning and estate, gift, and trust taxes.
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