As the cost of living continues to rise, more seniors — even those in “prime strongholds” like South Florida — are choosing to return to work.
This pattern among seniors living in and around Fort Lauderdale was recently profiled in an article in Fort Lauderdale Magazine. south florida sun sentinel. This is in line with a broader national trend, which shows that nearly 20% of Americans 65 and older are still in the labor force, a total of about 10.6 million people.
In Fort Lauderdale, the average is over 25%. Data for some time have shown that the U.S. workforce, like the broader population, is aging faster than in the past.
The article stated, “Of the 34,756 seniors, 9,149, or 26.3%, are employed in Fort Lauderdale.” “Their median household income: $50,078. In Hollywood, the survey puts the senior population at 31,526 , of which 7,814, or 24.8%, are still working. Their median household income is $37,422. Pembroke Pines ranks 95th, with 6,526 seniors working. 18.9% of the 34,541 seniors have a median income of $44,024.
Some companies find benefits to hiring older workers, including their ability to share knowledge and build new relationships with younger colleagues. But the driving factor is the cost of living.
“Among other things, seniors are struggling with housing affordability costs driven by rising apartment assessments, rising rent and maintenance costs, and prohibitive insurance premiums on multiple fronts,” the article explains.
The top reasons for South Florida seniors returning to work “can be broken down into three broad categories: financial need, desire for social interaction and personal interests,” CareerSource Palm Beach.
She calls it a “quiet return,” and seniors themselves aren’t shy about sharing why returning to work is their most viable option.
“We are seeing mature clients coming to our centers seeking part-time work to supplement their retirement income as their living expenses, insurance premiums, and even rent/management fees have increased,” Datolo said.
She said social connectedness was also a factor, but was secondary to economic reasons.
Some older residents say they have multiple sources of retirement income, but they are still not enough to cope with the rising cost of living. Others have been working continuously for decades, but retirement is still not an option.
Recent survey data comes from fair Research has found that nearly half of Americans believe retiring at 65 is “unrealistic,” while reports also indicate that more seniors prefer to live with roommates to share the higher cost of living.
