New retirement plan: Keep working

April 07--After 29 years at LexisNexis, 66-year-old Steve Hess doesn't see his career ending any time soon.

Hess envisions himself working until at least 70, but it isn't merely about the paycheck. He works from home four days a week, and he continues to feel fulfilled by his job and relationships with colleagues.

"I love the people at LexisNexis," he said. "I have people in my life ask me, 'Why are you still working?' You know, I like what I'm doing."

Hess is part of a generation of people in the workforce who are redefining what it means to retire. The concept of retirement is quickly evolving for Americans, who are no longer ending their work lives in their late 50s and early 60s. Now, workers are extending their careers for a multitude of reasons: financial hardship, Social Security and pension changes, household dynamics and a need for a purpose.

By 2022, more than 27 percent of Ohio's labor force will be age 55 or older, according to the Ohio Department of Aging. Rapidly changing demographics and Ohio's economic realities require employers to challenge stereotypes about employing older workers, while aging employees work to adapt to technology and culture changes in the workforce.

In Montgomery County, an increase of 18,000 people between the ages of 65 to 79 will be working through 2025, said Mark Anderson of Montgomery County Business Solutions Center. "We know people are staying in the workforce longer than ever before," he said.

Local and state data mirror a national trend that is transforming workplaces across the country. In 2016, almost 9 million Americans 65 and older were employed -- an increase of nearly 19 percent from 2000, according to the Pew Research Center. And in the next five years, that number is expected to jump 32 percent.

'I'm the last one out'

Examples of people working past the traditional retirement age are easy to find.

Tom Harrison, a Kettering resident, opened a tennis center in Springboro about 23 years ago. At the age of 67, Harrison still owns and operates the business while training high school athletes on the court every day. He plans to continue running his business as long as his health continues.

"All of my friends are retired," he said. "I'm the last one out here."

Harrison has advised his children, who are now in their 30s, to start saving and planning for retirement. Between his home equity, his business and his savings, Harrison feels he'll be prepared for retirement when it comes.

For others, however, retirement isn't an option. Ben Feldmeyer, a Centerville-based private wealth advisor, said the most common reason people can't retire is a failure to plan.

Most people pay into Social Security, and some can count on their pension plans to supplement their retirement income. But the rest of retirement savings must come from investment income, ranging from accounts like 401(K), 403(b), Roth IRAs and deferred compensation, Feldmeyer said.

"It can all become confusing so people just put it off until later," he said.

Common retirement plans offered by employers have also drastically changed in the past couple of decades. Kathleen Romig, a senior policy analyst at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, said the overall benefit of Social Security is relatively small, making it difficult for people to live solely on Social Security benefits.

And those benefits could get smaller in the future.

By 2034, under current projections, the Social Security system's trust fund will be exhausted. Congress will have to find a solution, which could include reducing benefits now by pushing back the age people have to be to claim benefits, Romig said.

Overcoming barriers

With people generally needing to work later in life, agencies have developed programs geared toward helping them adjust to the modern workplace.

One such program, Goodwill Easter Seals Miami Valley's Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP), serves about 100 people every year in the Dayton region. The program, funded by the U.S. Department of Labor, provides employment opportunities for seniors age 55 and older with a limited income.

Many of these workers face barriers like a lack of skills or education. And some, like 68-year-old Stella Lee, have no computer skills, a huge barrier for someone trying to find work.

After getting laid off from her manufacturing job in Moraine in 2014, Lee discovered that even simple tasks, like applying for jobs, often require an adept knowledge of Microsoft Office products to navigate online applications.

"I didn't want to learn how to use a computer," Lee said. "You know, sometimes we can be set in our ways. We get grumpy People have to be more patient."

Lee was accepted into the SCSEP program, where she learned computer skills and rotated through different jobs in several government agencies and nonprofits. After completing the program, she was offered a job at Goodwill Easter Seals -- teaching other senior citizens how to apply for jobs online and edit their resumes.

'I like to be busy'

People delaying their retirements is a growing phenomenon in many workplaces.

Dan McCabe, chief administrative office of CareSource, said in the past six years only about 60 employees have retired, and the average age of those retirees was about 68. There are many reasons, he said: Some are just now recovering from the Great Recession. Others like their job and don't want to give it up. Others still are reacting to changes in traditional retirement savings plans.

"All those aspects financially, I think, lend people to wanting to stay in the workforce longer," he said.

McCabe said many older workers still find passion and meaning in their work, and they choose to cut back their hours instead of retiring completely. They offer a rich perspective and needed institutional knowledge for the CareSource company culture, he said, often mentoring younger employees who are newer to the industry.

Even though retirement is decades away for millennials, some are already thinking about how they will afford life after work.

Courtney Osting, a 25-year-old employee for Northwestern Mutual in Beavercreek, said her education at Wright State University led her to think about retirement sooner than her peers. While other young people racked up student debt, Osting said her professors talked about the importance of saving early.

Still, Osting doesn't see herself slowing down much, even well past retirement age.

"I would see myself retiring in my mid-seventies, God-willing, if I'm healthy enough," she said. "I like to be busy, and I like to be doing things, having something to be passionate about."

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