or the World War II generation, retirement was the happy end of a long working
life.
For baby boomers, who have redefined most everything else
in their lives, retirement may just be a transition to an all-new encore career
or "a new stage of work after a midlife career," says Phyllis Segal, vice president
of Civic Ventures, a nonprofit focused on redefining the second half of life.
"It combines compensation, personal meaning and social impact.
Encore careers are unique because of their social aspects," she says.
Between 5.3 million and 8.4 million people ages 44 to 70 already
are involved in encore careers, according to a new survey by Civic Ventures and
the MetLife Foundation, a philanthropic arm of the insurance giant. A total of 3,585
people were interviewed from February 23 to April 1 by research firm Peter D. Hart
Research Associates. According to the survey, most of those already in encore careers
work in education, health care, government, nonprofit organizations and for-profits
that serve the public good.
Half of those in the survey who don’t have encore careers
would like to pursue them. Yet they face a number of obstacles.
"The older workers and retirees I study would like to do something
meaningful or just make connections with people," says Phyllis Moen, the Endowed
McKnight Presidential Chair in sociology at the University of Minnesota. "They can’t
find flexible jobs, though, and they don’t want to work full time anymore. They
don’t see the kinds of situations they want."
Moen says retirees with nondisabling but chronic health problems
want to work as much as those who are in good health. They also need flexibility
so they can manage their health concerns, but can’t find it.
Most people already in encore careers, however, report sufficient
flexibility, even among the 59 percent of survey respondents working 40-plus hours
a week. Of those, 73 percent have the flexibility they desire, and 85 percent have
enough time outside of work to pursue their interests.
"Flexibility is not just about the number of hours you work
but about having control over your time," Segal says. "The type of work you do and
the organization you work in can increase that control, even if you’re working full
time."
Laws that constrain post-retirement employment and corporate
policies mandating traditional work schedules also pose obstacles to encore careers,
but Segal thinks the necessary changes can be made.
"In the early 1900s, adolescence was identified as a new stage
of life, and a whole group of programs were created for that," she says. For encore
careers, "We need to help social sector employers, nonprofits, government and others
become aware, create pathways and training programs for individuals and help individuals
find ways to hook up with employers."
Such pathways are being built. The federal Partnership for
Public Service, aimed at bringing talent into government, makes a point of recruiting
50-year-old-plus workers. Several states, including Arizona, Maryland and California,
are setting up offices and task forces to recruit older adults to fill vacant jobs
and help their communities.
Two bills have been proposed that could help. The Incentives
for Older Workers Act, introduced by Sens. Herb Kohl, D-Wisconsin, Gordon Smith,
R-Oregon, and Kent Conrad, D-North Dakota, would remove barriers to phased retirement
and help people return to work after their midlife careers have ended. For those
who postpone receiving Social Security, the act would extend the retirement-delay
credit from age 70 to 72.
New lifelong learning accounts, proposed by Reps. Rahm Emanuel,
D-Illinois, and Jim Ramstad, R-Minnesota, would let people save up to $2,500 per
year pretax for education and training at any point in their lives.
Florida resident Gordon Johnson’s path after retiring from
a lifetime of working with foster children in state and corporate systems illustrates
one encore career. Throughout his working life, Johnson fought against the common
state agency practice of splitting up siblings to make it easier to find foster
homes for them.
In 2000, at the age of 67, Johnson founded Neighbor to Family,
a certified, private, nonprofit organization in Daytona Beach, Florida. Neighbor
to Family not only aims to keep foster siblings together, but also works with the
children’s families to solve the fundamental issues that force children into outside
custody. The organization has been so successful that Johnson was asked to set up
similar programs in seven other states.
"When you’re on a mission, and you find something that’s working,
and you develop it, you have a different kind of energy. It’s a passion," he says.
Nonprofits, government at all levels and for-profit businesses
should be actively recruiting encore career seekers like Johnson, experts say.
"Not many people today can sustain themselves on retirement
income and Social Security," Segal says. "Employers need good, experienced, passionate
candidates. People in encore careers are a potential talent pool with ability, commitment
and a passion to do the work. They can help make the world a better place."
Workforce Management Online, August 2008 -- Register Now!
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