on Jan 29th, 2006The Leisure Class (Brother can you spare a job)
Aah, the good life. There’s a myth in America that if you work hard, don’t take sick days, never spend more than you earn, and are married, you’re assured a blissful retirement. Unfortunately, genetics, inflation, and pension dumping corporations get in the way. The idea of leisure time is hard to fathom when all you have in your pocket is a piece of lint, not even the three bucks or more it costs for a Starbucks coffee. So, like any good worker bee, you head back to the hive and ask for your old job back. Sure, says the boss, how does $8.50 an hour sound? Your reply, “Welcome to McDonalds, can I take your order.”
While many retirees are still focused on leisure activities, a growing number are returning to the work force. A recent study by Putnam Investments estimated that seven million previously retired people, or about 10 percent of the work force over the age of 40, are now back at work or looking for jobs.
And among those, the number of older retirees returning to work is growing quickly. Today, nearly one-fourth of all people in the 65-to-74 age group hold jobs, compared with just one in six just two decades earlier, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Putnam’s study found that the number of workers in the 65-to-74 group grew three times as fast as the overall work force last year.
The Golden Years: Travels, Hobbies and a New Job, Too
By ANNA BERNASEK
New York Times, January 29, 2006