Retirement isn't all it's cracked up to be for many boomers, who'd work if they could.
But, according to a new study from Bankers Life Center for a Secure Retirement, they can't. The study "New Expectations, New Rewards: Work in Retirement for Middle-Income Boomers" has found a range of reasons has kept 48 percent of retired boomers off the job, when they'd rather be working — and earning.
Among the forces keeping boomers at home are poor health (35 percent), the health of a loved one (5 percent) and the inability to find a job (8 percent).
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In addition, a majority of retired boomers (69 percent) say they'd have preferred to stay on the job longer, but ended up retiring earlier than expected. Seventy-nine percent of these earlier retirements were due to causes outside their control, such as personal health (39 percent), a layoff (19 percent) or not being able to do the job any longer (6 percent).
Close to a third of retired boomers (28 percent) are actually working, or have been working for pay during their retirement. Those still on the job largely say they're doing so because they want to work (61 percent), but among those boomers who haven't yet retired, 71 percent say they're only still working because they can't afford to do otherwise.
And among those working, almost half—49 percent—say they'll work past age 70 or as long as they're healthy enough to continue.
Most employed retired boomers (88 percent) aren't working full time. Fifty-nine percent are part-timers, 18 percent are freelancers and 7 percent are seasonal workers. Then there are the entrepreneurial retired boomers, who make up 42 percent of the working retired crowd; they're either self-employed or they own small businesses.
The vast majority of boomers who haven't yet retired say they wouldn't take a cut in pay to work once retired (just 21 percent would consider such an arrangement), but 53 percent of those who have retired and are still working say that they make considerably less money per hour in their post-retirement jobs.
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