A recent survey of about 1,000 U.S. residents age 65 and older found that one-in-four seniors are still working, and an increasing number of recent retirees plan to return to the workforce.
In the Resume Template survey, 22% of working seniors recently unretired, and another 6% plan to this year. The top reason, cited by more than half, is the need for additional income because of the rising cost of living, but 36% said they have unretired, or plan to, simply because they are bored.
Despite the vast experience and knowledge many seniors have, reentering the workforce at their age has challenges, and one of them is ageism.
“I think if you’re 55-plus, you’re probably going to deal with some type of age discrimination. Any way that you can mitigate that on your resume, like don’t put dates on your degrees, and really focus on the last 10 to 15 years of relevant work,” said Julia Toothacre, Resume Templates’ chief career strategist.
Deciding to go back to work, or remaining in the workforce in another role, past the age of retirement is what is called an “encore career.”
Many have a network of friends and past coworkers that can help guide them, but some who want to find work in their golden years struggle with figuring out what that looks like. There are resources for that.
“For those who might be struggling to figure out what to do and needing some ideas, they can actually look up ‘encore careers.’ If you go to your web browser, there is a lot of content and information out there that can guide you through this process,” Toothacre said.
Americans now at retirement age or fast approaching it are not always in a position to make the transition and live off what they’ve saved for retirement and the benefits they may get. This group of retirement-bound Americans is still trying to make up for lost time.
“I think back to that 2008 time period, and this generation was hit really hard with their savings and their investments. I think for many of them, they didn’t really recover,” Toothacre said.
Among seniors in the survey who have not retired, 61% said it is because they still enjoy their job, and 42% said they fear boredom in retirement. Workers a few years out from retiring that fear boredom can address those concerns now. Successful retirees who are enjoying their golden years have done more than just financial planning.
“They have a vision for the life that they want to live, and then they go live that life. So, think about that, and what is most important to you in those later years. How you want to live, and then figure out what that is going to cost,” Toothacre said.
Choosing not to retire when they could, or unretiring to reenter the workforce does not necessarily mean working until death. The most common age group for working seniors is age 65 to 70.
Resume Templates’ complete survey results, methodology and commentary is available online.
Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here.
© 2025 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.