TULSA, Okla. (AP) - Cindy Loftin is 13 years into a six-month gig.
Not long after retiring from a 30-year career with AT&T, the Oakdale, Louisiana, native was looking for some way to make a positive impact.
“My bucket list was mostly checked off and I was bored,” she told the Tulsa World .
LIFE Senior Services was looking to hire someone temporarily to help the agency roll out its Medicare Part D assistance program.
After a year, the senior and caregiver support agency hired Loftin on a permanent basis.
“I don’t know if I would have gone back to work if it had not been for this opportunity to serve the community through a nonprofit,” she said. “It was just the right job at the right time.”
Loftin is part of growing number of older adults working beyond retirement age.
From 1977 to 2007, the employment of people 65 and older doubled while the employment for people 16 and over increased less than 60 percent, according the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
In 2014, 40 percent of people 55 and older were working or actively looking for work. That number, known as the labor participation rate, is expected to increase the fastest for adults 65 and older through 2024 while the labor participation rates for most other age groups are not projected to change much in the same period of time.
In September, the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission released a report looking at older workers in the state’s workforce from 2001 to 2017.
“One of the findings that struck me was that our state employment would have declined between 2001 and 2017 were it not for workers 55 and older,” said Lynn Gray, an economist with the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission.
In addition, the number of workers 65 and older in the state grew by 116 percent during this same time frame, increasing from 43,083 to 93,214.
The labor force participation rate in Oklahoma for those 55 and older grew from 34.9 percent in 1999 to 41.7 percent in 2015.
During the same time period, the 16 to 24 year old age group saw a drop in labor force participation rate from 64 percent to 55 percent, while the 25 to 54 year old participation rate fell from 82.3 percent to 78.9 percent.
After retiring from the corporate radio world, Wayne and Marilyn Blackmon opened The Blackmon Group, a small, independent marketing and advertising company.
The couple decided they wanted to keep working after retirement, but wanted the freedom to choose the clients they work with based on shared beliefs and interests.
Wayne Blackmon said they, like many others their age, want to continue to work because they still have something to contribute.
“You aren’t no longer employed because you get old. You’re old because you’re no longer employed,” Wayne Blackmon said. “There’s an energy of still being of value and having a contribution to make.”
Blackmon added that another reason he thinks more people his age are working later into life is that quality health care and a focus on healthy living has people feeling better longer.
Blackmon, 74, learned to fly an airplane at the age of 55, for example.
“We don’t look like people who are sitting around discussing their bowel movements. Now there are people our age who do that, but we find it rather uninteresting,” he said. “The truth is people are more vibrant.”
Shelley Cadamy, executive director of Workforce Tulsa, said that many companies are quite savvy when it comes to retaining and hiring adults 65 and older.
“There are so many jobs that need to be filled, and I think smart companies are understanding there are retired workers that have the skills, expertise and maturity that they are looking for,” she said. “If they can make the job attractive with the flexibility and opportunity for growth that the older worker is looking for they can pull those people out of retirement and back into the workforce.”
Cadamy said baby boomers are typically good mentors to younger workers.
“They have expertise, institutional knowledge and they get along great with millennials. For a company looking to bridge that gap it can be a great strategy,” she said.
When Loftin’s son died unexpectedly four years ago, she was able to find comfort in her work and through her co-workers.
“This job was a lifeline for me during a very difficult time,” she said. “This organization was also my family. That warmness enveloped me when I lost my son.”
She said that many of the clients the agency serves no longer have loved ones to support them.
“If you have these types of outlets, it keeps you strong,” Loftin said.
However, the extra money is also nice.
“Many of us have retirement or Social Security, but it doesn’t hurt to have that extra money,” Loftin said. “I certainly like having that extra money because it certainly helps me do more than I would be able to do financially.”
Loftin, 68, said she is preparing to retire for a second time at the end of the year. She said she can’t imagine not working but will try and enjoy herself.
“I plan to do whatever I want and nothing before noon,” she said. “And who knows? Maybe I’ll be back here volunteering.”
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Information from: Tulsa World, http://www.tulsaworld.com
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