The Encore Career: Post Retirement Paradigm Shift

Have you heard of “encore careers?” Shifting from the trends of the past where once a person retired they were finished working, it is now becoming more and more popular (due to both necessity and desire) for retirees to begin second occupations.

While most retirees plan to spend their post-work years traveling, volunteering, spending time with grandchildren, or improving their golf game, many are energized by discussing their “next act” in terms of work – their encore career…nearly 60 percent of workers who are age 60 or older anticipate looking for a new job after retiring. Whether it’s out of a necessity to supplement retirement income or a desire to simply to stay active, intellectually engaged, or inspired, working in retirement is quickly becoming the norm. (Source: Forbes)

Four reasons why the “encore career” has become more and more mainstream:

  • Financial Advantages: postponing drawdown of savings and social security while continuing to increase net worth is enticing to many, especially when life expectancy continues to rise.
  • Bridging the Gap: if contemplating the inevitable work-to-retirement transition spikes your anxiety, a more gradual change may prove more fulfilling for you.
  • Health Benefits: more and more evidence suggest cognitive, psychological, and social benefits to working…
  • Intrinsic Rewards: pivoting from the stable, lucrative, career path that sustained you and your family to a more philanthropic, creatively stimulating, or simply a riskier occupation may revitalize you…

Are you a retiree already involved in an encore career? Or someone who is considering it? Please share your insight and thoughts!

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5 Midlife Career Changes (and Triumphs)

5 Midlife Career Changes and Triumphs (Source: Entrepreneur.com)
5 Midlife Career Changes and Triumphs (Source: Entrepreneur.com)

By middle age many people have reached a successful career plateau. And by midlife, some professionals’ careers are still ascendant, providing plenty of security, positive affirmation, and comfort. So why should you consider midlife career changes? Why switch horses mid race? (Insert your favorite euphemism.)

Midlife Career Changes

“Career anxiety is our latent talent howling through our minds, desperate not to go to the grave unspent.”

These beautiful words are from The Book of Life, an online collection of thoughts about what constitutes emotional intelligence. But they also carry a bit of truth, which sometimes hurts, sometimes scares. It can even get scarier when, at midlife, you find yourself thinking about leaving your 20-year-old job or building a business from scratch. To effect this kind of change is not an easy decision to make. However, it does not mean it cannot be done. (Source: Entrepreneur.com)

Midlife Career Changes

If/when you’re bold enough (and ambitious enough) to take the leap, the rewards can be exponential. Check out these successful encore career examples that prove middle age may be the perfect time to make a professional change.

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