Nearly 30 percent of women between the ages of 65 and 69 are still in the workforce, choosing employment over retirement, according to the New York Times.
The Times, citing research by Harvard economists, found that women have become more likely to work into their 60s and 70s, and many do so because they love their jobs.
The number of women between 65 and 69 who are still working is up 15 percent from the late 80s, while working women between 70 and 74 are up 8 percent. Most often, those women were healthy, had higher education degrees and money in savings accounts. The ones who were not working, on the other hand, often were in poor health and had limited savings. The latter were more likely to be dependent on Social Security or disability payments, the research showed.
The two new studies draw their data from the Health and Retirement Study at the University of Michigan and from the Current Population Survey and the Survey of Income and Program Participation at the Census Bureau. The data included surveys that tracked the same women over time. The researchers sometimes studied respondents’ income tax and Social Security records.
Senior women who still work were really the first generation to enter the workforce in large numbers, mostly in the 1980s. They identify themselves by their chosen professions, the study found, and they are reluctant to give that up for retirement.
For some women, however, the decision to keep working was unexpected and created a hardship, though, due to a divorce, pension or real estate losses or changes in Social Security. A separate study found that women who were working into old age were forced to because they had more debt than in previous generations and lacked financial savvy. Older workers who lost their jobs during the recession were more likely to be unemployed long term.
Men’s employment after age 60 has also risen, since about 1994, with 60 percent of men between the ages of 60 to 64 working.
Whether you are planning to work into old age or not, it’s important to have your future planned. That includes creating an estate plan and a long-term care plan that will benefit you and your loved ones. Speak to an experienced Florida estate planning attorney today.
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