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What do a 66-year-old
sales executive, a 59-year-old mental health counselor, and a 69-year-old technical
writer have in common?
They are all unemployed
late in their careers, but they do not want to retire. In fact, given the costs
of living in retirement, they need to keep working. But all three are faced
with a similar set of challenges that a growing number of older job seekers
will have to confront in the years ahead. First, they need to negotiate a job
market that, in many instances, holds their age against them.
They must also find new
ways to communicate their own special value to potential employers. And, at
the same time, they have to deal with their own mounting ambivalence about working
for pay at a time when they thought they would be close to or in retirement.
This study combines three components: indepth qualitative interviews with 24
leading older-worker job coaches and employment
agencies, 21 older employees (retirees and job seekers), and a national survey
of 1,242 employed/retired/job-seeking adults ages 55 to 70 years old. While
the sample includes adults ages 55 to 70, Baby Boomers (those born 1946–
1964) represent the majority and therefore are the primary focus of this study.
These expert observations,
personal experiences, and national data explore the disconnect between those
in their late fifties and sixties who aspire to continue working and the realities
of a job market that tends to treat many older job candidates as, at best, irrelevant.
It also showswhat aging Boomers will have to do in the next few years to be
successful in the changing employment market.
Aging Boomers may both
need and want to work longer than previous generations, or longer than they
may have anticipated. The
accompanying MetLife Aging Boomer Job Market survey confirmed the findings from
the extensive interviews conducted. It found that
for U.S. residents ages 55 to 70—who are still working or seeking work—the
average age at which respondents expect to stop working for pay is about 70,
and that goes up to almost 76 for those ages 66 to 70.
Thanks in part to the recent
recession, many older Boomers do not have the retirement savings needed to support
them into their mideighties. And about three-quarters of today’s workers
report they expect to work for pay after they retire.
Unfortunately, the current
job market has other ideas. Historically, fewer than 35% of retirees actually
report working for pay after retirement. This study examines the realities of
the job market that produces such disappointing results, and suggests solutions
for both job seekers competing in the job marketplace and employers looking
to remain competitive in attracting and retaining productive employees.
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