In 2020, about 1 in 6 people in the U.S. were age 65 and over; 20% still are working

In 2020, about one in six people in the U.S. were age 65 and over¹; 20% still are working. According to newly released Census and Bureau of Labor Statistics data, about 20% of Americans over age 65 — a total of 10.6 million people — are either working or looking for work, representing a 57-year high.²

Of people in the U.S. aged 65 to 74, about 32% are expected to be working past the typical retirement age in 2030 — dubbed “employment extenders.” That’s compared with 27% in 2020 and 19% in 2000.³

Are you working or planning to work past traditional retirement age? If your answer is “yes,” then you are an employment extender, too.

Voya Cares’ and Easterseals’ recent research finds that as employment extenders, you share an age range, but you actually have different motivations, financial considerations and personal concerns that impact your work and retirement decisions. To better understand your differences and meet your needs, employment extenders have been sorted into unique groups based on your attitudes, beliefs, motivations, and behaviors. The resulting four segments — or personas — are based primarily on your motivations for continuing to work: the four employment extender groups are Want to Work, Part of the Plan (Working Longer by Design), Worriers, Need to Work.

Take Voya Cares’ quiz to find out which persona best meets your motivations for continuing to work past retirement age.

Which specific persona you are matched with may determine what your next steps may be to help you prepare for retirement.

If you are a Want to Work employment extender, you may be financially prepared to retire, but still enjoy working. To help you prepare to retire, when you choose, ask your financial professional or HR benefits specialist about:

• Help transitioning to retirement: Tools and guidance on how to best use benefits in your current stage in life, including integration with Social Security benefits and health care integration with Medicare
• Personal finance tools and resources: A variety of online/digital tools and resources that help you see all of your financial and employee benefits information in a single place, estimate medical needs, calculate how long income streams will last, estimate long-term care needs and suggest places to live and living arrangements
• Reinvestment of retirement income: Building a strategy for collecting multiple streams of retirement income in addition to your salary, including required minimum distributions (for retirement assets from former employers), Social Security payments, and other retirement income, and how multiple income streams may be used to better prepare you for retirement

If you are a Part of the Plan (Working Longer by Design) employment extender, you may always have planned to work longer to be fully prepared for retirement, and you still enjoy working. To help you prepare to retire, when you choose, ask your financial professional or HR benefits specialist about:

• Reinvestment of retirement income: Building a strategy for collecting multiple streams of retirement income in addition to your salary, including required minimum distributions (for retirement assets from former employers), Social Security payments, and other retirement income, and how multiple income streams may be used to better prepare you for retirement
• Income needs in retirement: Help estimating expenses, including future healthcare and long-term care costs
• Social Security retirement strategy: Guidance to help estimate the age when to begin collecting benefits, Medicare coverage options and determine family and survivor benefit eligibility 

If you are a Worrier employment extender, you may be working longer because you are afraid you are not ready to cover unexpected expenses. You may be able to save, if you have the time and a plan, but you don’t necessarily like working. To help you prepare to retire, when you choose, ask your financial professional or HR benefits specialist about:

• Health and wealth employer-provided benefits: To better understand of all the benefits available to you through your employer, including health, dental and vision insurance plans; pension plans such as 401(k) or 403(b), including maximum match and options providing predictable streams of income; group life insurance coverage; emergency savings plans
• Retirement planning guidance: To help with personalized investment advice, maximizing benefit dollars across all benefits and estimating income needs in retirement
• Wellness benefits: Holistic wellness benefits to help manage stress, including Employee Assistance Programs (EAP) and virtual mental health visits

If you are a Need to Work employment extender, you may be working longer because you are not ready to retire. Even though you don’t necessarily like working, you may continue to work because limited resources make saving difficult. To help you prepare to retire, when you choose, ask your HR benefits administrator about:

• Prioritization and reallocation guidance: Applications to help balance health and wealth benefits dollars and help uncover sources of retirement savings
• Debt management: Programs to help pay down debt, including credit card and student debt relief
• Education on retirement topics: To better understand your Social Security retirement benefits, Medicare coverage options and long-term care planning

To find out more ways your employer may be able to help you prepare for retirement, log on to voyacares.com/aging.