Retirement May Be a Thing of the Past, New CareerBuilder Survey Finds

Majority of Mature Workers Plan to Work After Retiring

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Feb 16, 2012, 06:00 ET

CHICAGO, Feb. 16, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Are workers really retiring anymore? A new study shows 57 percent of workers age 60 plus surveyed said they would look for a new job after retiring from their current company, showing that retirement no longer means the end of one's career. The nationwide survey was conducted by Harris Interactive© on behalf of CareerBuilder and PrimeCB.com, CareerBuilder's job site for mature workers and retirees. It included more than 800 U.S. workers age 60 and older and more than 3,000 hiring managers and human resources professionals between November 9 and December 5, 2011.

When asked how soon they think they can retire from their current job, one-in-ten (11 percent) respondents said they don't think they'll ever be able to retire. Other responses included:

1-2 years – 26 percent
3-4 years – 23 percent
5-6 years – 22 percent
7-8 years – 7 percent
9-10 years – 7 percent
More than 10 years – 4 percent

While an increasing number of mature workers are putting off retirement, the good news is that more employers are looking to hire more seasoned staff. According to the survey, 43 percent of employers plan to hire workers age 50 plus this year, while 41 percent said they hired workers age 50 plus in 2011. Seventy-five percent of the employers surveyed would consider an application from an overqualified worker who is 50 plus, with 59 percent of those employers saying it's because mature candidates bring a wealth of knowledge to an organization and can mentor others.

"Whether mature workers are motivated by financial concerns or simply enjoy going to work every day, we're seeing more people move away from the traditional definition of retirement and seek 'rehirement,'" said Rosemary Haefner, vice president of Human Resources at CareerBuilder. "At the same time, employers are seeing the value these mature workers can bring to an organization, from their intellectual capital to their mentoring and training capabilities. In a highly competitive job market, mature workers can use these skills to their advantage."

Mature workers can find job-search success by emphasizing the qualities that set them apart from other workers. PrimeCB.com offers these tips:

Leverage your professional and real-world experience – When updating your resume or interviewing for a job, think about your experience in terms of both work-related and life skills. Whether it's your strong leadership skills or your wherewithal to weather a tough economy, play up the strengths that come with having more years under your belt.

Bring value to your company in other ways – If you're looking to stay with your current company beyond retirement, find new ways to contribute to the organization, outside of your day-to-day tasks. Spearhead a mentorship program or offer to train new hires.

Consider part-time or freelance work – For workers who aren't ready to completely stop working, part-time employment may be a good solution. Forty-nine percent of workers age 60-plus said they will most likely work part-time once retired. Check out job boards, talk to staffing firms and tap into your social and professional networks for part-time, freelance or temporary work.

Survey Methodology
This survey was conducted online within the U.S. by Harris Interactive© on behalf of CareerBuilder among 3,023 hiring managers and human resource professionals age 18 plus and 878 U.S. workers age 60 plus (employed full-time, not self-employed, non-government) between November 9 and December 5, 2011 (percentages for some questions are based on a subset, based on their responses to certain questions). With pure probability samples of 3,023 and 878, one could say with a 95 percent probability that the overall results have a sampling error of +/- 1.78 and +/-3.31 percentage points, respectively. Sampling error for data from sub-samples is higher and varies.

About CareerBuilder®
CareerBuilder is the global leader in human capital solutions, helping companies target and attract their most important asset - their people. Its online career site, CareerBuilder.com®, is the largest in the United States with more than 24 million unique visitors, 1 million jobs and 45 million resumes. CareerBuilder works with the world's top employers, providing resources for everything from employment branding and data analysis to recruitment support. More than 10,000 websites, including 140 newspapers and broadband portals such as MSN and AOL, feature CareerBuilder's proprietary job search technology on their career sites. Owned by Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE:GCI), Tribune Company and The McClatchy Company (NYSE:MNI), CareerBuilder and its subsidiaries operate in the United States, Europe, Canada and Asia. For more information, visit www.careerbuilder.com.

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SOURCE CareerBuilder