Older Workers Finding It Difficult To Retire
By Ron Devlin, Reading Eagle, Pa. | |
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services |
Indeed, at 63, Cocuzza thought by now he'd be retired from managing the
"I was hoping to retire two years ago," Cocuzza said. "but I've told my employer I'll be working at least another two years."
Cocuzza's not alone in his decision to put off retiring.
A recent
The survey suggested a shift away from the ideal of retiring to
The baby boomers, it appears, will be working longer and retiring later than their parents.
Participation of seniors in the workforce, which declined for decades following the advent of
"There's a whole new retirement landscape out there," she said. "People are increasingly delaying retirement or transitioning into it."
Forget the 'golden handshake'
Gone are the days when companies offered incentive retirement packages to workers still in their 50s.
When
"You're never going to see anything like that again," said Johnson, 84, who's been retired for 26 years. "The way things are now, people are lucky to have jobs."
Ludgate, who advises clients on investing for retirement, said the high cost of medical insurance and the prospect of living longer are driving decisions about when to retire.
One of Ludgate's clients who left a job at a
Working part time, the retiree doesn't even earn enough to pay the cost of medical insurance.
"Some people are going to live 40 or more years in retirement," Ludgate said. "We're living longer, and we're going to have to work longer."
Changing plans
The AP survey found that 47 percent of the respondents planned to work until age 66, three years longer than they had anticipated when they were 40.
Kapelski has a retirement plan but worries it won't be adequate over the long haul in retirement.
"In retirement, you're basically on a fixed income," she said. "At least when you're working, you get overtime and cost-of-living raises."
She has a 401(k) retirement account, but thinks it will be inadequate to keep pace with the rising cost of just about everything once she's no longer employed.
"You have too many things to pay off," said Rear, an activities coordinator at a retirement home. "I'll end up working at least part time in retirement."
Conducted by the
At the same time, one in six respondents had less than
Among those still on the job, 47 percent were very or extremely likely and 35 percent were somewhat likely to do some kind of work in retirement.
Men, racial minorities, parents with minor children, people who earn less than
About 75 percent of respondents said they had given retirement some or a great deal of thought.
Facing the realities
Cocuzza acknowledges he's thought a lot about retirement.
His wife,
Someday he'd like to do the same.
"Naturally, financial considerations are important," he said. "You have to face the reality that you need a certain income to maintain your standard of living."
Yet, for a generation steeped in the work ethic, it's not all about money.
Cocuzza's proud that he worked his way up from a driver to manager of a seven-person staff that supplies industrial lubricants and related services to clients throughout the
One of his salesmen tells Cocuzza that, should he retire, he'd miss the action.
"That's quite possible, but I want to find out for myself," he said. "On the other hand, I'd leave the door open so that if I do miss the action, I could get back in."
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