It’s not unusual to hear working-age people complain that they’ll never be able to retire. But for most of us, retirement is an option. However, it is also a reversible option. And it’s surprising how many people turn it around, either by choice or necessity.
Every retirement looks different and every return to work is a little different, but there are some underlying reasons why many retirees return to work not long after leaving work.
The deceptive allure of FIRE
The FIRE (Financial Independence Retire Early) movement has been popular for years. It generally means working hard, living frugally, and aggressively saving and investing to build a nest egg at a very young age, often before you reach your 40th birthday.
FIRE is embodied in the kind of motivational quotes you can find all over the internet, along the lines of:
Do what 90% of people won’t do for ten years, so you can spend the rest of your life doing what 90% of people can’t do.
There are now entire books devoted to the movement, such as Playing with fire And Retired before mom and dad.
But many commentators are beginning to point out that there is a large gap between what the FIRE movement promises its disciples and the stark reality of very early retirement.
Writer and researcher Alex Carter followed 380 early retirees and thought it was over 80% of them returned to some type of work within four years, often after “failing” at FIRE, because frankly the numbers in the 20s no longer stack up. There are a few reasons for this.
- The cost of living is soaring, and many FIRE plans did not account for inflation at this level.
- Aggressive investment strategies can be risky, and continuing this path after retirement (a time when people of traditional retirement age wisely transition to more conservative investment strategies) doesn’t always pay off.
- Retiring at a very young age means you still have the expenses of being a young, fit and adventurous person; you generally won’t enjoy your cheap hobbies and playing with your grandchildren.
- Traditional retirement plans – like the 4% rule – simply don’t work for retirements that can last decades, so FIRE plans can be fraught with miscalculations.
Many of the FIRE enthusiasts of recent years have achieved their retirement goals, retired, and now have no financial choice but to return to work.
The social pitfalls of retirement
Another reason that many retirees (of any age) are returning to paid work is the realization that retirement, in the words of a retiree I spoke to recently, “just isn’t all that.”
When you’re tired of hard work, it’s easy to assume that endless free time is the solution, but endless free time isn’t really what humans were designed for.
Most people need several things to feel truly fulfilled: a sense of purpose, the satisfaction of contributing to the world, a sense that someone appreciates what he or she does, daily social interactions, and some kind of challenge (mental, physical, creative, intellectual, or emotional).
For many retirees, all these matters are closely linked to their working lives. And removing it is often not the Nirvana they imagined. They can of course be earned back without paid work. Perhaps through volunteer work, family or community involvement, or creative hobbies.
But many find that some form of paid work – perhaps part-time, flexible, seasonal and/or more enjoyable than what they did during their long careers – makes them happier than traditional retirement, while also providing valuable extra income well into the later years when your financial pot is often dwindling.
The appeal of a new start
Linked to the above point, retirement can be a revelation for some. As a retiree once told me, “It turned out I didn’t hate work, I just hated my job.”
Retirement can last an awfully long time Today, many of us live in the 80s, 90s or even 100s. It has gone from a few years at the end of life to a real “third act” in which we have the opportunity to reinvent ourselves, try something new and find a job we really like.
When we retire, we are generally freed from two things. The first is social judgment. We can do something that is not a profession, but a fun job. That’s because our identity is now, for example, ‘retired teacher’, so if we want to work part-time in a hardware store, a farm shop or a garden centre, why not? This is just something we do to keep busy. It is no longer our whole personality.
The second type of freedom is financial. Retirees may feel pressure on the cost of living, but they also invariably have some kind of pension, or at least regular social benefits.
While there’s no doubt that financial pressure is often a factor in the decision to return to work, the money usually supplements retirement income – however modest that may be – so there’s an opportunity to find a job you love for less.
Many retirees become writers, artists, jewelry makers or potters. They turn a creative hobby or passion into a new start and possibly a successful business, or at least an additional income stream. It may be a little sad that they weren’t able to do this sooner, but maybe – with our longer lifespans and increased health – that’s exactly what we should use our third act for.
About the author
Karen Banes is a freelance writer specializing in entrepreneurship, parenting and lifestyle. She writes articles, website content, ebooks, and the occasional award-winning short story. Her work has appeared in a range of publications, both online and offline, including The Washington Post, Life Info Magazine, Transitions Abroad, Brave New Traveler, Natural Parenting Group, and Copia Magazine. Learn more about Karen
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