Richard Dever, age 74, labors at a Maine campground mopping dirty shower stalls, emptying garbage, and mowing the grass. Dever, who traveled over 1,400 miles to take the temporary position, said, “I’m going to work until I die, if I can, because I need the money.” Dever is part of a rapidly growing portion of the American population over age 65 who continue to work into what has traditionally been considered retirement age. While some of these individuals work by choice, many continue working beyond retirement age in part due to incredibly weak finances. According to polls, older Americans are now more concerned with running out of money than they are of death. As a result, some financially insecure workers choose to take jobs as “workampers.” This refers to older workers who choose to shed their costly lifestyles to purchase RVs and then travel the nation seeking seasonal employment. Workamper Mark Molnar, age 62 and still working despite Social Security, said of his situation: “Forget the government. It’s got to be ‘We the People.’ We’re on our own. You have to fend for yourself.”
See Mary Jordan & Kevin Sullivan, The New Reality of Old Age in America, The Washington Post, September 30, 2017.
Special thanks to Jim Hillhouse (Professional Legal Marketing (PLM, Inc.) for bringing this article to my attention.
