Retirement

Older workers get a bad rap: too slow, not productive enough. But what about a company that seeks out the 70, 80, and even 90-year-old set? At the Vita Needle Factory in Needham, MA, I visited a factory where grey hair, or no hair, is the norm, where the annual gross sales are $11 million, and employees are valued for their loyalty, quality of product, work ethic.

Some don’t even need the paycheck, but do the manual labor to stay connected, hang out with peers, and have a sense of purpose. Did I mention they have to walk up 19 steep steps to get to the factory floor? Rather than a sense of drudgery, visitors see productivity and optimism. It made this 50-something feel like a slacker!

Do you think we value older, older workers and if not, why not? Would you would want to work at that age? What would you rather be doing?

Watch them at work in this youtube video: http://bit.ly/nop60U

Pitting the generations against one another is pointless, but it might explain why your son or daughter is still a job hunter rather than an employee. U.S. workers 55+ aren’t retiring anytime soon. They need the income or the healthcare benefits or the sense of purpose and stimulation a job provides. And that means there are fewer positions for Millennials and Gen Xers.

Labor Department stats show that since 2007, the recession, age 55+ employees were the only group to increase participation in the workforce; workers under 25 dropped off 13% or by almost 3 million, while employment for 25-54-year-old plummeted 6/5% or 6.5 million.

Check out this story in the Boston Globe: http://bo.st/n7qWxM

Photo by Boston Globe staffer John Tlumacki

Do you see your friends, colleagues staying at work longer? Do you sense resentment among the younger generations who also need to work? Have you ever witnessed age discrimination?

In his Huffington Post piece, Aging Guru Ken Dychtwald mentions a 2011 survey conducted by heavy hitters (Age Wave, SunAmerica, and Harris Interactive) of 1,000 men and women ages 55+ who are either pre-retirees or retirees on their attitudes toward retirement.

The take-aways:

1. It will be good and bad. Boomers will have fewer government entitlements and less money, but they’ll stay active, keep learning and growing and leading interesting lives. They’ll also be more careful with, and educated about, their money.

2.  70% expect their adult children will need financial help from them

3. 78% respondents believe they can still have a good retirement if they’re more financially disciplined

4. 77% of pre-retirees want to work in retirement, more for personal satisfaction than even money.

Here’s Dychtwald’s Huff Po piece: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ken-dychtwald/retirement-aging-better-worse_b_895587.html

Check out the report at retirementreset.com