Why You Need to Keep Working After Retirement

The percentage of people aged 65 to 74 years in the labor force has risen from 20.4 percent in 2002 to 20.6 in 2012. The Bureau of Labor and Statistics (BLS)  projects that this rate will increase to 31.9 percent in 2022. Many workers look forward to their retirement and they hope to rest and kickstart projects they were not able to work on before retirement. But partly because of the need for greater financial security, many Americans continue working beyond retirement. Rather than being a burden, working beyond retirement can have some positive effects. Here are the top reasons why you should keep on working beyond the official retirement age.

You Will Attain Financial Security

Many working people have little savings beyond the retirement benefits they expect from social security. But with life expectancies steadily on the rise, retiring at 62 means that most people have more years to finance, reducing the amount of money available to them each month. A person’s benefits could increase by up to 8 percent per year for each year they are delayed receiving them. Delaying your retirement would be a sure way to attain financial security both when you are still working and when you eventually retire.

You Will Stay Healthier

Even people whose finances are not in question derive benefits from continuing to work beyond age 62. Far from having a negative impact on your body, continuing working beyond retirement has been demonstrated to have some positive effects on both mind and body. Many retired people who stop working and challenging their minds find out that the old adage “use it or lose it” applies. When you force your body to work even when old age sets in, it will naturally adapt and get stronger. The same applies to the mind.

The Sure Way to Maintain Social Relationships

Human relationships thrive when there is adequate communication and they will eventually collapse when the lines of communication close down. Many retired people who go into quiet retirement discover to their disappointment that their circle of friends reduces rapidly. This is because communication between them and their old friends is reduced to a bare minimum. One way to keep the lines of communication with old friends open is by continuing in the workforce. Working can even help seniors to strike new friendships. These social relationships are, in turn, important for seniors to maintain good mental and physical health.

Having a Purpose in Life

Many working people underestimate the importance of keeping a regular schedule (which work enables them to do) to their wellbeing. One reason why some retired people get into decline fast is because of lack of a purpose in life. For office workers and professionals like teachers, continuing to get involved in some form of organized work beyond retirement can have some lasting benefits. Some studies have even shown that people who get another job beyond retirement are more likely to maintain good mental health after retirement. The likes of Warren Buffet, 85, Paul McCartney, 73, Karl Lagerfeld, 82, and Sophia Loren, 82 are some well-known personalities who have made a success of working well beyond their 60’s.

Although many working people look forward to stopping working when their retire, they soon find out that working after 62 is important. Continuing to work enables seniors to have financial security, to maintain social connections, to have a purpose in life, and to keep the mind and body fit.