Is working the new retirement?

As recently as two years ago, the buzz was about how boomers are redefining retirement by staying active in the workforce. They are continuing their careers on a part-time basis, starting new businesses and even trying out a second career. For many boomers, "retirement" is simply an opportunity to try something new, to stay engaged and take on new challenges.

Now employment is becoming more of a need than a want for some boomers, according to recent media reports. With shrinking nest eggs and increasing uncertainty, many baby boomers are buying time by hanging on to their full-time positions a little longer. According to a January 2009 Working Longer Omnibus survey from the BMO Retirement Institute, over half of boomers still in the workforce plan to put retirement on hold. And what about retirees? Forty-five percent report they plan to return to work within the year.

BMO isn't the only one to note this development. A September 2009 report from the Pew Research Center reports that while older workers have been staying in the workforce longer for the past couple of decades, this trend has intensified due to the recession. In the U.S., 4 in 10 working adults over the age of 62 say they have postponed retirement plans due to the economic crisis. Over 60 per cent of workers aged 50 to 61 report they have had to push back their "retire by" dates. There's also a gap between the sexes: More women than men say they plan to work longer.

On the other end of the scale, many young workers are staying out of the workforce. The report also found that more people between the ages of 18 and 24 are in school, up nearly 10 per cent from 2000. These two trends combined mean the workforce is now "greyer" than ever before.

However, the economy is only part of the story. According to the Pew Research Center Report and an April 2009 BMO report, there are other reasons boomers don't retire: