The golden years aren’t what they used to be

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

The golden years aren’t what they used to be. Rather than leading lives of leisure, older New Jerseyans are coming out of retirement and going back to work in increasing numbers. The return of retirees to the work force is driven partly by the financial and personal needs of these individuals. At the same time, companies that are anticipating a worker shortage in the future are stepping up efforts to retain and recruit older workers.

Nearly 810,000 New Jersey residents that were 55 or older were working in 2006, up from roughly 630,000 in 2000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Those numbers are only expected to increase as more people reach retirement age, employment experts say.

“As more people retire, they realize that retirement isn’t for them, either for personal or financial reasons,” says Marcia Wilson, communications manager for the Maryland, New Jersey and Pennsylvania regional office of Experience Works, an Arlington, Va.-based nonprofit organization that helps older low-income workers find employment.

For some retirees, who tend to work in part-time positions or in full-time consulting jobs on a short-term basis, re-entering the work force is a financial necessity. “They need the extra money to survive,” says Joseph Scalice, president and CEO of Retireeworkforce.com Inc., a Holmdel-based firm that runs an online job board for retirees and the companies that hire them. “They’re living longer, they’re spending much more time in retirement than past generations have.”

http://www.njbiz.com/article.asp?aID=73342

[Jenn! 918]

My great grandmother is 90 years old and she still hasn't retired!

[Amby 490]

it's so true. I think my dad's mom has retired about 6-7 times she just keeps going back to work and I think it's just because she needs something to do because I'm pretty sure she doesn't need the money

Edited February 19, 2008 by Amber&Neil

[Trompe le Monde 1,107]

Some people can not handle free time - my father was one of them. He retired and went crazy. Actually, he took up "gardening" but instead of managing a garden, he'd buy something at the nursery and plonk it somewhere in the yard. The yard soon became full of randomly planted trees and bushes and looked terrible.

He then went back to work.

[Alex+R 0]

Some people can not handle free time - my father was one of them. He retired and went crazy. Actually, he took up "gardening" but instead of managing a garden, he'd buy something at the nursery and plonk it somewhere in the yard. The yard soon became full of randomly planted trees and bushes and looked terrible.

He then went back to work.

I'd like to see the yard.

Hm well, I have to say it IS depressing seeing old people bagging your groceries in the midwestern suburbs. Not the case here, though.

[Trompe le Monde 1,107]

Some people can not handle free time - my father was one of them. He retired and went crazy. Actually, he took up "gardening" but instead of managing a garden, he'd buy something at the nursery and plonk it somewhere in the yard. The yard soon became full of randomly planted trees and bushes and looked terrible.

He then went back to work.

I'd like to see the yard.

Hm well, I have to say it IS depressing seeing old people bagging your groceries in the midwestern suburbs. Not the case here, though.

There is a big magnolia tree right in front of the big bay window pretty much obscuring any sunlight that might come in.