Diane Wetherington, 72, debated devoting her time to crafting and spending time with her grandkids when she considered retirement. She even tried full-time retirement but soon realized her Social Security checks wouldn’t be enough to cover travel or rising insurance costs, on top of basic needs. Now, the Central Florida resident works part-time as a remote contracting agent in local government.
While she sometimes has to miss out on plans with fully retired friends, she says continuing to work has kept her budget sound and her mind active. “It’s just getting very hard to make ends meet,” Wetherington said. “The way the world is right now, everything’s going up, up, up.”
Wetherington is part of a growing number of Americans staying in the workforce past 65, once a traditional marker for retirement.
This trend has buoyed the national labor market after years defined by high quitting rates. It’s also changed the financial outlook for those who remain employed, whether for personal satisfaction or monetary need. This trend should be more apparent than ever in 2025 when more Americans are expected to turn 65 than in any past year, according to a widely read study from the Alliance for Lifetime Income.
The number of employed Americans 65 and older ballooned more than 33% between 2015 and 2024. By comparison, the labor force for all workers 16 or older has increased less than 9% during the same period. Workers ages 65 and older accounted for 7% of the total workforce in 2024, up from 5.7% a decade ago.
It’s really hard for many employers in many sectors to fill key workforce needs right now,” said Jim Malatras, strategy chief at FedCap, a nonprofit that helps train and place people in jobs. Tapping this age group “can help build key capacity where it’s desperately needed.”
While the swelling number of workers in this age bracket — more than 11 million in 2024 — has gained attention in recent years, the reasons for this outsized growth date back decades. According to Laura Quinby, an associate director at Boston College’s Center for Retirement Research, America’s aging population is a significant driver of this trend.
But structural shifts in the retirement system have also encouraged working later in life. The transition in the private sector from employer-funded pensions to 401(k)s and other defined-contribution plans created a need for many workers to remain employed longer.
Older Americans delay retirement plans
Social Security pushed the program’s “full retirement age” from 65 to 67. People really do use the Social Security full retirement age as an anchor in terms of when they should retire and claim benefits,” Quinby said. “That shift triggered a trend in people working longer.”
Longer life spans have led a growing chorus of voices to call for the age of retirement to move back even further, especially concerning the sustainability of Social Security.
BlackRock Chair Larry Fink, for instance, stated in an annual letter that it’s “a bit crazy” the expectation of retiring at 65 “originates from the time of the Ottoman Empire.
Yet there are vastly different reasons and experiences for people of retirement age to continue working, said Teresa Ghilarducci, director of The New School’s Retirement Equity Lab. About two-thirds of those still working do so “because they have to.” They can be in jobs with high physical or mental requirements but see few alternatives, given that their Social Security checks can’t sustain them. “I call it the tale of two retirements,” Ghilarducci said.
Employers of all kinds have tried to win and retain this growing base of talent. Companies like Booking.com and grocery store chain Wegmans have introduced special programs to entice older workers. Xanterra, a travel company that owns properties in and around national parks, offers seasonal jobs to retirees through its “Workamper” program.
“The retirement community, or that older workforce, is really an integral part of our overall workforce planning strategy,” said Shannon Dierenbach, Xanterra’s human resources chief. “They certainly bring a level of expertise, wisdom, life skills, and perspective that really enhances the overall experience.”
Despite these efforts, advocates say a pervasive culture of ageism continues to hurt older Americans in the workforce. “They’re like vintage cars to us,” said FedCap’s Malatras.
“They’re built to last, they’re full of value, but they’re often treated like high-mileage vehicles, and they don’t really have an opportunity to serve anymore.”
Employers hoping to better engage older workers should ensure job descriptions and images on their hiring pages do not subtly favor younger applicants, according to Heather Tinsley-Fix, senior advisor for employer engagement at AARP. She often encourages employers to sign AARP’s pledge to support age equality. Removing college degree requirements can also help attract older candidates, given a smaller share of them completed higher education compared to younger generations.
Working from home is a key component of flexibility that older workers may need, Tinsley-Fix said. As the number of potential retirees swells in the coming decade, this flexibility may prove invaluable.