Redefining retirement, work, and play for those over 50 and 60 -- Career Center Blog

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April 27, 2011

Redefining retirement, work, and play for those over 50 and 60

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By Michelle Goodman
NWjobs

Over 50 but feel like those AARP notices you keep getting in the mail aren't speaking your language? Feel more like you're embarking on a new chapter of life than moving toward retirement?

Marc Freedman, founder and CEO of the think tank Civic Ventures, can relate. So much so that he's written a book on the topic.

In The Big Shift: Navigating the New Stage Beyond Midlife, Freedman argues that as a society, we need to embrace the stage of life emerging between middle and old age, or as he calls it, the "encore years." And, Freedman says, because many people in their fifties, sixties, and beyond aren't looking to stop working so much as they're looking to find work that they're passionate about, employers need to shift their way of thinking about older workers.

As the first of 78 million Boomers hit age 65 this year, Freedman says, this conversation becomes more important than ever, not just for the current generation of older Americans, but for future ones too. I recently had the chance to speak with Freedman about the ideas in his book. Highlights from our conversation follow.

Q. Why, as a society, does our thinking about older Americans need to change?

A. There's been this widespread assumption that as Baby Boomers turn 60, they are magically turning into senior citizens and retiring as people did in earlier generations. But in fact, most people who are hitting that point or are approaching it aren't going to be retired, old, or any other form of senior citizen.

Much that is being characterized as "old age" and "retirement" is really something quite different. It's true that these people are leaving midlife, but they're arriving at a very different destination. Most people in this chapter of life want to or need to keep working. As we move from a lifespan of 70 to something that may well approximate 100 years old in this century, 30-year retirements are not going to be attainable or sustainable.

As a society, we're having a difficult time getting our arms around it. We hear that 60 is the new 30, and yet you get all these senior citizen discounts. My book argues that 60 is the new 60. It's obvious that most people who are now 60 are not old, and they're not going to be old for a long time.

Q. How do employers need to change their perceptions of 50- and 60-something workers?

A. A lot of employers assume that once somebody is over 50 or over 60, they're elderly. Because 75 years ago, people at that age were elderly. But they're not anymore.

I recently read an article by a leading economist that defined the working population as being between the ages of 15 and 59. Statements like this are incredibly arbitrary, and yet they still have a pull on our perceptions and those of our employers. Many employers assume that people in their 50s or 60s are moving toward retirement and just passing through. That may be the case for some older workers, but for many, it's not retirement that they're wanting, but another career altogether.

Employers need to understand that folks at this juncture are not worn out or over the hill. Many of these people are getting started on a whole new chapter that just might lead to their best body of work. Many of them are entering their most creative period. In fact, research shows that many of our best innovators and creative minds are in their 50s, 60s and up.

Q. You've talked about older Americans placing a higher premium on more meaningful, flexible work. Do employers need to rethink the types of jobs they're offering older workers?

A. Absolutely. That can only help. I think a lot of people are shifting their priorities in their encore years. The old dream was of retirement -- the freedom from work and from ever having to go the office again. But people now are working toward the freedom to work -- in other words, to do work that they choose, work that gives back to society, work that they're passionate about.

They're not necessarily looking to work full-time or to have as demanding a schedule as they once did. And they're willing to take roles with less responsibility and less pay, as long as the work pays off in other ways, like being personally meaningful and creating a social impact. It's a much different picture than the old career trajectory of climbing up, up, up until you fall off the ladder.

There's something about moving into your 50s and 60s -- parents die, you get test results you might not like, you look at your high school reunion list and realize some of the people aren't around anymore. People recognize that life doesn't go on forever and their priorities change. And this compels them to want to do work that has an impact on their community and the people around them. That's what they want to be remembered for. Only unlike previous generations, there's time do something about it. Now people can live a legacy instead of just leaving one.

Freedman is speaking about his new book at The Seattle Public Library (downtown location) at 7 p.m. tonight. More information on this event can be found here.

Michelle Goodman is the author of "My So-Called Freelance Life" and "The Anti 9-to-5 Guide." E-mail Michelle at mgoodman@nwjobs.com