How to Survive Being Involuntarily Unretired

By Deborah Lynn Blumberg for NextAvenue

Some involuntary unretirees start working again after an illness leaves them with medical copayments and co-insurance bills they can’t afford. Others have been walloped by a natural disaster that eradicated their home. Still others just weren’t able to save enough during their working years.

In the United States, the older workforce has almost quadrupled to roughly 11 million since the mid-1980s, driven in part by growth from the 65-and-older population, according to the Pew Research Center. Around 19% of adults ages 65 and older are currently employed, compared with 11% in 1987. The CWI Works, a nonprofit that helps older, low-income job seekers overcome barriers and secure meaningful jobs, estimates that by 2028 workers aged 55 or older will represent more than 25% of the U.S. labor force.

“The rise in involuntary retirements, widespread financial unpreparedness, and persistent barriers to reentering the workforce are driving a growing economic crisis,” says Gary A. Officer, founder and CEO of CWI Labs, an initiative of The Center for Workforce Inclusion. “We’re a country of spenders, not savers,” he adds.

In addition to high health care bills, waning private pension plans in the U.S. have played a significant part in people’s financial insecurity during retirement and the need for retirees to return to work, explains Officer.

Almost half of older Americans are financially unprepared for retirement. Many find themselves on the brink of poverty. The median retirement account balance for people nearing retirement age is just $10,000, according to the Economic Policy Institute.

“You’re on your own,” Officer says, and in this reality, “people really have to make sure they’re very thoughtful about how they will sustain themselves 15 to 20 years after their retirement date.”

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