“The bottom line is that older workers have gone back to work.” (Alicia Munnell, director of the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, to the NY Times).
This statement summarizes what is now trending in 2022. It has been dubbed the Great Unretirement. According to Labor Department data, 1.5 million would-be retirees have already recently returned to jobs. Another 68% of the newly retired are actively considering returning to work. (Https//:www.fortune.com/2022/06/07/great-unretirement-recently-retired-workers-consider-returning-to-jobs/)
I am not totally shocked by the so-called Great Unretirement trend. I was among those 8 million workers that the covid pandemic sidelined out of the workplace. In 2019, the covid pandemic’s impact on businesses changed everything. My entire industry was at risk for an extended period, with no positive end result guaranteed. It seemed a good time to cut my losses and leave. Back then, what was happening was described as the Great Resignation. Millions of us left our jobs.
A Great Resignation Becomes A Great Unretirement
But life has gone on, and pandemic impacts are easing. The cost of living is very much higher now- a fixed income is quite a hardship. Inflation is at its highest level since 1981. There are rising prices of gas, food, and everyday expenses. The stock market has been very volatile. I, along with many retirees, have watched in horror as 401(k) balances plummet. (https://www.cnbc.com/2022/05/05/unretirement-is-becoming-a-hot-new-trend-in-the-sizzling-us-labor-market.html).
Also changing work environments are making a return to work more attractive. Companies are embracing remote workforces, for instance. That technology offers a chance to earn without time spent in a daily grueling commute. In addition, employers are offering other incentives to entice people to work for them.
Finally who could forget about those wonderful health insurance costs that employment brings? Health insurance coverage is usually crucial the older a person gets. Those younger retirees that are not yet eligible for Medicare are returning to those jobs that provided them with health care.
Retired, Not Expired?
A final factor making a return to work attractive is senior loneliness/isolation. This factor was likely aggravated by the covid lockdowns. But retirees returning to work are sometimes driven by the need for social interactions and significance. Maybe a retirement luxury of not needing an alarm clock anymore loses its luster when too much loneliness sets in. I have to say that I do not miss the work so much as I miss my fellow co-workers and our “water-cooler” interactions. Missing those relationships is not surprising. A person works with co-workers for 40 hours a week, often for years- and likely spends more time with them than with spouse or family. Losing those social interactions can be isolating.
So will the Great Resignation become the Great Unretirement for me? I am actually starting to job-hunt for something part-time to supplement my income. They do say that in retirement, there’s no more rat race, but less cheese. But sometimes there’s a trade-off when a little extra cheese is needful.
