elderly workforce

[97guns]

chime in if you see them, i just got back from a trip to the casino and they were everywhere there. card dealers, waitresses, guys at the sportsbook, i even saw an old guy cleaning toilets, my attorney is over 80 with parkinson's. they are branching out from stereotype walmart greeters, they have come a long way

[elessar78]

eh, you never know the full story. My mom has a 401k, plus a pension, and rental income as does my step dad and they live in a paid for house. She just turned 70. She retired at 65 and was back to work part time in six months because she was super-bored. She does contract work at her old company 150 days a year. It's a nice balance.

I won't deny that many probably need to work, because a lack of savings.

[disneysteve]

What you've observed is not unique. I've read many stories about the "graying" of the work force". As elessar noted, some of it arises out of financial need, but much of it doesn't. It just comes from people living longer and healthier lives and wanting to continue to stay active and engaged in society.

Retiring at 65 when the average lifespan was 62 made a lot more sense than retiring at 65 with the average lifespan now nearly 80 and many people living productive lives far beyond that.

My mom will be 85 on Sunday. Last Friday, we called her in the morning and there was no answer. We tried a couple of other times during the day - no answer. She called back around 4pm and said it was her day to work. She lives in a senior apartment complex. At first, she was volunteering in the kitchen but she did such a good job that they hired her for pay. She doesn't work full time, just a few hours per week, but it gives her something to do, makes her feel useful, and helps supplement her retirement income. She isn't doing it out of financial need at all.

You mentioned the casinos. I'm not sure where you are but we live near Atlantic City. The casinos there opened in 1978. When you visit today, you can find employees who have been there since day one. They are all in their 60s or perhaps 70s toady. They love what they do and will keep doing it as long as they can.

[phantom]

The mother of one of my friends, who I believe is in her 60s, works part time as a dealer in a casino. She dies her hair, so she might not seem that old. The main reason she works there is that it makes it illegal for her to gamble there. She has a gambling problem that she seems to control well enough. The casino she works at is 10 minutes from her house, and if she wasn't working there, she'd probably be gambling there most days. As it is, the nearest casino she can gamble at is over half an hour away, and working keeps her busy enough that she only makes it to a casino a few times a week. It was even better when working at a casino made it illegal to gamble anywhere in Pennsylvania, but that law changed.

[ua_guy]

I recently met my grandmother from my biological family. She's 74 and still works, by choice.

Looking at the average retirement account balances for Americans, people are only going to work longer and the average age of the workforce is going to rise significantly.

[snafu]

I was surprised that the clerical/receptionist staff at our largest radiology clinic appeared to be seniors. As we waited for procedures we gossiped about the 'grannies.' I asked the technician who explained they're delighted as elderly workers take their job seriously. They want to do a good job, come on time, stay to complete the paperwork even though they are not paid for those last 15 - 20 minutes.

There is a lot of tension as it's extremely busy and patients are worried about outcomes but these older workers remain unfailingly cheerful and are able to reassure clients which seems to lower stress. During holidays they bring in home made treats, important bonus for boss and technicians.

[riverwed070707]

We live near a theme park and if I had to guess the workforce there is 70% seniors, 20% students and 10% management/full time employees. A lot of seniors where we are enjoy seasonal work in the summer and then snowbird to the south in the winter because it supplements their retirement and enables them to travel.

[disneysteve]

A lot of seniors where we are enjoy seasonal work in the summer and then snowbird to the south in the winter because it supplements their retirement and enables them to travel.

And just the opposite is true down south. At Disney World, for example, there are many seniors who work the winter and then travel or snowbird during the summer. There are also a lot of full-timers who retired from their careers and moved to Florida permanently. We've had some great conversations with older cast members during our Disney visits.

[elessar78]

Since labor costs are usually one of the biggest expenditures for any company, I think companies are willing to hire retirement age people too because they don't have as much of a demand for higher and escalating salaries.

It's absolutely anecdotal but up until recently, our receptionists were two ladies of retirement age. They both wanted to work part time and my company was happy to oblige. They got to spend time out of the house, because their husbands were lured back out of retirement by their companies. My company met their staffing needs without having to pay full-time benefits.

Plus, I think it's healthy. A lot of what I read about cognitive ability in the elderly is "use it or lose it". Plus, financially, apart from investment income, when you're not making money—you're spending money.

[FLA]

in hospice we have 3 home care aides who have worked there since opening in '82. All 3 are finally retiring. The eldest is 72, 4'10", maybe 100 lbs- bathes, showers, moves patients all around by herself like she's 30. Being a home health aide, I truly believe is an extremely hard job physically,emotionally, requires a certain kind of person, they are often treated poorly and very much underpaid. In most nursing agencies, constant turnover, most stay less than a year, I would guess. I think it speaks volumes that our aides stayed for 33 years, rather than industry norm of less than one. I asked them why they weren't retiring, for one it was money, the other two because they loved working with this population that much. And we did not treat them well, IMO. Low pay. They somehow decided the company wide policy of working 7.5 hrs, unpaid lunch, didn't fit them and an hour was added onto their day (the day of really old people doing a really hard job), they'd get told their driving time was their lunch. They kept upping how many patients they had to see per day. And I caught my boss deliberately not telling them the proper way to get reimbursed for mileage, ugh. And they stuck it out for 33 yrs, I would've left the first time they didn't follow labor laws.

For nursing, I was worried as I aged, I would be pressured to take a crappy middle management job because if not I'd be an expensive RN, much cheaper to get young nurses. People came to hospice and stayed for 30 yrs, worked incredibly well together, required minimal management. This was our culture until the last 2 yrs I worked there, all of a sudden, I never saw nurses lasting past 50 in my job. Some were pushed out by being "asked" to resign over some stupid trumped up issue. Replaced by 22 yr olds. When I got sick I was the last "old" nurse left, I'm sure I would've been the next head on the chopping block.

Where do you go if you've aged out of your occupation, you cost too much? I had some ideas, moot point for now.

[Fishindude77]

Quite a few posts here that mention the elderly folks are working these jobs by choice, for something to do in retirement, a little extra spending money, because they enjoy it, etc.

Sadly, I also think there are a whole lot more of them that are pretty much broke and working these jobs out of necessity. It's the only way they can pay taxes, utilities, hang onto their homes, etc. Many have free loading kids or grand kids that have sucked them dry. Medical issues may have drained their family, etc.

[disneysteve]

Quite a few posts here that mention the elderly folks are working these jobs by choice, for something to do in retirement, a little extra spending money, because they enjoy it, etc.

Sadly, I also think there are a whole lot more of them that are pretty much broke and working these jobs out of necessity. It's the only way they can pay taxes, utilities, hang onto their homes, etc. Many have free loading kids or grand kids that have sucked them dry. Medical issues may have drained their family, etc.

I think the current generation of seniors is often working by choice. However, I think you're absolutely right that more and more folks joining those ranks are doing so out of necessity as a result of the things you mentioned as well as simply a failure to save adequately for retirement.

I also think it varies depending on the socioeconomic status of these folks during their working years. I work in a poor area and a lot of my patients work long past 65 because it's the only way they can put food on the table. They just never earned enough to build any significant retirement stash. They worked jobs that didn't have pensions or 401k plans. The folks I know who are working seniors by choice are folks that were more middle class and had good jobs with good benefits and retirement plans.

[Fishindude77]

I also think that if you don't have quite a lot to keep you busy in retirement, working a job that you enjoy is good for both he mind and body. Keeps you sharp, and gives you a reason to get up in the morning.

If you don't have hobbies, and all you have to do is cut the grass, wash the car and your routine daily chores, you're going to be pretty bored in retirement.

[FLA]

I do see elderly needing to work, in my city, it's because there were not a lot of businesses that offered great retirement except the State. So many, who had worked all their lives, had a crappy or no pension and lived off SS ($700 was common). Often we could get them Medicaid and SNAP. But some, their meds cost 1/2-3/4s of their SS. Houses now in a bad neighborhood and almost worthless, no money for repairs

the next city over, which actually went broke and I would never live there, but the elderly are doing much better. GE and other companies came in with factory jobs, amazing pensions and great health coverage. They are gone now. But the elderly benefited from them beyond belief, pensions, $2 prescriptions for brand name drugs, they are so much better off than the folks one city over.

[97guns]

i just got back from the grocery store where my bagboy was a guy well into collecting a social security check, he was a new hire getting trained and i am 100% positive he was not there because he wanted to be, im pretty sure his social security check aint cutting it