Get Back to Work: Your Guide to “Unretirement”

Last year, Richard Eisenberg turned 65. After 40 years of writing and editing for outlets like Money Magazine and Good Housekeeping, and managing digital publication Next Avenue, he decided it was time for him to call it quits. Sort of. 

In January, after consulting with his financial advisor, Eisenberg formally retired. But he didn’t have a traditional retirement in mind. He wasn’t going to move south to warmer weather and didn’t plan on playing much more golf. His goal, in fact, was to keep on working — far less than he did as the managing editor of Next Avenue, but enough to satisfy his urge to continue writing and learning while giving him the time to explore other interests.

Eisenberg (and Tom Brady) are examples of Americans who’ve recently returned to work after retiring, a U-turn known as “unretirement,” which has in recent months gained a lot of attention. During the summer of 2020, at one of the worst points of the pandemic, the level of employees who retired and then returned to work a year later sat about 2 percent. That’s now more than doubled, Geoffrey Sanzenbacher, an economist at the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College tells KCM.

There are a few reasons for this, Sanzenbacher says. One is that the pandemic pushed a fair amount of people out of the workforce — either because it prompted them to retire ahead of schedule or because they were laid off. Now that the labor market has tightened and employers are hungry to fill positions, a good chunk of these people are edging back into offices, bringing the rate of unretirement back up to around pre-pandemic levels. 

“I think the story some people want to tell is that inflation is driving older people back to work,” he says. That’s not quite the case, though. Historically, and somewhat counterintuitively, unretirement usually picks up when the economy is good and it’s easy to find work, and falls during recessions when jobs typically dry up. 

Of course, the economy’s been behaving in strange ways lately. The country may be heading into a recession, but oddly the job market is still going strong — which means that now is a great time for retirees looking to get back to work, says Chris Farrell, author of Unretirement: How Baby Boomers Are Changing the Way We Think About Work, Community, and the Good Life.

“There are things you can do to help yourself out, but you can’t underestimate the importance of a tight labor market,” Farrell says.

How to unretire successfully

Retirement is a major life change, and it can feel disturbing in its abruptness. Many people aren’t ready for it when it happens, so they’ll retreat back into the working world because it’s familiar. But before you wade back into the job market, Farrell and Eisenberg suggest taking a healthy amount of time to think hard about what you want in the next stage of your career. Ask yourself: How many hours a week do you really want to work? How much flexibility do you need? Would you like to remain in the same field or branch out into something new?

Understanding this will help you focus your search, and narrow in on the type of work that will be both fulfilling and provide you with a level of compensation you’re comfortable with. In many cases, Sanzenbacher says unretirees return to their old sectors, either as consultants or independent contractors — positions that allow them to work fewer hours and often come with less stress. Farrell says gig work is growing in popularity too. Driving Uber or working as an Airbnb host can be a great way to fill your days and pad your income, especially for older Americans who are covered under Medicare and don’t need a job with benefits. 

Finding a job after retirement

Applying for jobs in your 60s or 70s is going to look a lot different than when you first started job hunting, Farrell warns. In many ways, the cards are stacked against you because of age discrimination, so “going the traditional route won’t be as effective.”

Algorithms used by employers may potentially weed out older adults, Farrell says, and there’s plenty of evidence that shows ageism is still a massive problem among recruiters. So instead of sending your resume out the old-fashioned way, Farrell recommends first reaching out to friends, family, and professional acquaintances for leads.  

“Your most valuable asset is your network,” he says. “They can make introductions to get you to the job you want.”

If you can afford one, consider hiring a career coach who specializes in helping people 50 and up, says Janine Vanderburg, initiative director of Encore, an advocacy group that focuses on combating ageism. They can help you modernize your resume to ensure you’re not automatically screened out by an algorithm, or give you tips on whether you should include your graduation date. They’ll also guide you through how to talk with hiring managers in ways that will highlight your strengths as an older worker — and preempt any age bias you may face in interviews, Vanderburg says. One example she offers is how employers often fear that a worker in their 50s and 60s won’t be responsive to being managed by a younger boss. “Being able to give examples of when you’ve learned from younger people can go a long way,” she says. 

Another unfounded concern is that an older employee won’t stick around, so addressing that in an interview can be a good tactic too. In fact, research shows that older workers on average stay in jobs longer than their younger peers and take fewer days off. Plus, studies indicate that they tend to have better interpersonal skills, a strength you can also discuss.

The future of unretirement

Many of the experts we spoke to think the number of Americans who opt to unretire will only increase in the future. That’s partly because remote work may make unretirement more appealing. “It really does open up more opportunities,” Farrell says, especially for older employees who may be less mobile or who have other health issues.

It’s also because we’re just living longer, Vanderburg says. In 1970, the average life expectancy was about 71 years old. Now it sits at around 77, and by 2060 the U.S. Census Bureau projects that it’ll rise to 85. 

But our concept of retirement hasn’t evolved to reflect this. There’s still an expectation that once we reach our 60s we’ll drop out of the workforce and embrace a life of leisure. For many, that’s just unrealistic. According to a recent survey, only about half of Americans have accrued the recommended amount of retirement savings — and 37 percent aren’t saving for retirement at all. 

“A lot of people don’t have enough savings to retire at 65,” Farrell says. “So bringing in an income really does change their financial circumstances, and allows them to delay filing for Social Security.”

Plus, more and more Baby Boomers seem to be growing dissatisfied with this traditional view of retirement. Many derive a sense of purpose from our jobs and careers, feel stimulated by the new challenges that come with work, and enjoy the social aspect of employment — and don’t want to lose that as they age.

“I think this is a generation who finds joy from doing some sort of work, even if it’s not all the time,” Eisenberg says. “So the idea of retiring the way we did in the 1950s is just not appealing to a lot of people.”