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Working Past 65--Not Always by Choice

Kamyar Adl
/
Flickr
Retiring is no longer a given at 65.

The age of 65 was a milestone that many workers used to look forward to—the promise of retirement, leisure time, and a guaranteed pension.   But the last couple of decades have brought change: most companies don’t provide pensions, employees must make their own investment choices concerning their 401K (if they are lucky enough to even have one), and simply dropping out of the work force at 65 isn’t an option.

This hour, in our summer “Iowa At Work” series, we look at the choice, and often necessity, of working past the “normal” retirement time.  We find out that many Iowans just need to keep some money flowing in because they haven’t saved enough; others miss the intellectual stimulation and camaraderie of the workplace and just can’t give it up.  We also find out that in an ideal world employers would do more to help people transition into retirement (offering them part-time jobs, for example).

Helping us to understand these retirement issues are Brian Kaskie of the University of Iowa College of Public Health; Tory Meiborg of World Trend Financial in Cedar Rapids; and two Iowans who are working past retirement age and enjoying it: Dr. Wayne Bicknese, a West Union veterinarian who is now 80 and Chuck Betts of Keokuk, now on the advisory council of Iowa AARP and still working as a business consultant. 

Dennis Reese was the mid-day host for Iowa Public Radio
Ben Kieffer is the host of IPR's River to River