Felske also credits technology with offering retirees opportunities in the fields of blogging, technical writing, and product reviews.
“Even when you hit the Social Security age, other expenses make working a necessity. Not everyone has a 401(k),” Felske says.
Another Cause for Gray Hair
Fidelity Investments estimates a 65-year-old couple retiring in 2011 will need $230,000 to pay for medical expenses throughout retirement, not including nursing-home care. This figure assumes there is no employer-provided retiree health-care coverage, and life expectancies of 17 years for men and 20 years for women.
While plenty are forced to put off full-time retirement to pay the bills and keep up with uninsured medical costs, others are choosing to work to stay active and pursue interests they didn’t have time for during their nine-to-five years.
In order to supplement her income, Felske has also decided to turn some hobbies into part-time jobs, as well. Felske says even if she did not need to work, she would still want to try to get her own event-planning and catering businesses off the ground.
“In my mind, retirement is for old people,” she says. “Plus, after working for 40 years, your identity is tied to whether or not you ‘go to work.’ ”
Thomas Marrone, 69, of New York City, agrees: “There is no correlation between 69 today and the 69 of the last generation.”
While he feels he can afford to be selective when choosing a part-time job, watching his retirement savings take a beating in the stock market kept him up at night.
In addition to financial security, Marrone says retirees are looking for ways to stay active and keep their minds engaged.