The report, which reviews the most recently available data on the subject of older workers, also finds that older workers are more likely than their younger counterparts to be engaged in certain kinds of nontraditional employment as freelancers, temporary workers, and independent contractors. This strong predilection for nontraditional employment is not characteristic of any other age group, the study showed. Currently nearly 4 million people aged 65 and over are in the U.S. labor force.
Retirees represent a growing segment of experienced and willing workers to tap.
With that in mind, BLS predicted total replacement needs of 22.2 million workers between 1998 and 2008. Employers that want to take advantage of the seasoned older worker segment of the workforce should be prepared to offer retirees flexible work arrangements. In helping seniors deal with retirement, AARP said it has been successful in communicating information about estate planning, pensions, health benefits, and where to live but has been less successful in helping people know what to do with their time. With greater longevity, people might face 30 years of retirement and have not always thought about how they would fill those years, Russell said. Morrow-Howell said that attitude surveys of baby boomers as they envisioned retirement found that leisure is not what they pick for the top of their list.