Job Search Grows Cold, Creating Reluctant Retirees
US News & World Report, March 3rd, 2010
Paul Skidmore is hesitant to call himself retired. The former
insurance claims adjuster in Finksburg, Md., was laid off in February
2008 and has been job hunting for more
than a year. Although at 62 Skidmore is old enough to begin drawing
Social Security, he doesn't want to permanently leave the workforce. "On
the one hand, my brain is telling me go look for a job," says Skidmore,
who originally planned to retire at age 66. "On the other hand, why
bother? Just retire."
Skidmore is among a growing number of people who want to work into
their 60s but are pushed into early retirement by the weak job market.
The number of unemployed Americans ages 55 and older expressing interest
in finding a job has grown by 60 percent since the end of 2007,
according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. But finding work has proved
difficult. The unemployment rate for older job seekers has more than
doubled since 2007 to 7.2 percent in December 2009, and the average
duration of the job search for older workers was 36 weeks in
November—far longer than the 28 weeks most younger workers remain
unemployed. Some discouraged seniors eventually give up on finding a new
job and start calling themselves retired.
Many workers may want to delay retirement to replenish decimated
401(k) portfolios, but a larger number may be forced to retire early
because of their inability to find new jobs, according
to research by Wellesley College economists. The researchers estimate
that 378,000 workers will be forced into early retirement in the next
five years because of the rising unemployment rate, about 50 percent
more people than those who will work longer to recoup stock market
losses.
Mike Reimringer, 64, of Rochester, N.Y., once planned to retire at
age 70, but he's now among the more than 1.3 million workers ages 55 and
older who are employed part time because they have no choice. Two days a
week, he works as a quality systems associate for a biological research
company. "I am certainly hoping to get bumped up to full time, and I am
continuing to job-search," says Reimringer, who was laid off from his
last full-time job in December 2008. After a year of looking for
full-time employment, he signed up for Social Security
benefits in December 2009.
Filling the gap. Workers who are at least 62 when
they lose their job have the option to sign up for Social Security benefits.
The Social Security Administration reported a 21 percent surge in
Social Security applications in fiscal year 2009, higher than the 15
percent jump that was expected as the oldest baby boomers reached
retirement. The administration's chief actuary, Stephen Goss, attributes
the rest of the increase to the weak job market. "This is a gap filler
for those people until they can get back to work," he says. "If they
don't get back to work, then these benefits will continue for the rest
of their lives."
Social Security monthly payments are reduced when they're claimed
early. "During the economic downturn, people do start retiring more, and
they start doing that at exactly the age at which Social Security
becomes available," says Phillip Levine, a Wellesley College economist.
"But their Social Security benefits are less than they would have been
otherwise." Checks are reduced by 20 to 30 percent for workers who claim
benefits at age 62. Those who postpone retirement will see their checks
increase by 7 to 8 percent for each year they delay between ages 62 and
70.
Read more of this article.
Working in Retirement: Retired too early? Retired involuntarily? While it can be difficult, especially in today's job market, there are programs that can assist seniors in returning to the workforce. Look into the options at NewRetirement.com.