Most people conceive of retirement as a one-time and permanent event, in which individuals leave the workforce by choice or by force and then live off private savings, Social Security benefits and, rarely, guaranteed employer pensions.
A new survey report by ResumeBuilder.com, a career search company, suggests that this image may increasingly misleading.
The 2025 survey, following the firm's 2023 and 2024 studies on seniors reentering the workforce, shows the continuance of an important trend. Namely, 8% of seniors say they have returned to work after retiring, while another 4% say they are applying for jobs with plans to reenter the workforce.
Additionally, 16% of respondents older than 65 report they have never retired, indicating that a significant share of seniors have continued working beyond the traditional retirement age without ever fully leaving the labor force.
Among those who returned to work, 74% did so before 2024, while 13% reentered the workforce in 2024 and another 13% returned in 2025. Looking ahead, the report shows, many seniors hope to delay retirement.
In a statement accompanying the report, ResumeBuilder.com's chief career advisor, Stacie Haller, said the data shows that retirement has become “more flexible than final,” for both positive and negative reasons.
“Rising living costs, uncertainty around long-term savings, and concerns about Social Security and Medicare are leading more older Americans to delay retirement or return to work,” she warned. “At the same time, flexible work options like part-time, remote, and project-based roles make it easier for seniors to stay engaged.”
Continuing to work, Heller added, isn’t just about finances.
“It’s also about purpose, connection, and enjoying the work they do,” she said.
Why Go Back?
As noted, financial pressures are a major factor behind the decision to keep working, but that’s not the entire story.
More than half of seniors cite both enjoying work (54%) and the high cost of living (54%) as reasons for continuing to work or returning to the workforce. Thirty-seven percent say they have not saved enough for retirement, while others point to boredom (34%), concerns about potential changes to Social Security (26%) and worries about changes to Medicare (19%).
Among seniors planning to continue working, 58% expect to do so on a part-time basis. In this group, some 6% plan to retire by the end of 2025, 15% expect to retire in 2026, and 23% in 2027.
Another 13% say they do not plan to retire until 2028, 9% until 2029, and 34% say they do not plan to retire until 2030 or later.
New Conception of Older Age
The report also examines the common perception that retirement represents more of a pivot than a hard fork from work.
“For many, this stage of life becomes an opportunity to finally pursue work they’ve always been interested in, launch a long-considered business, or shift into more meaningful projects,” Haller observed.
She noted that many of her clients simply enjoy the work they do.
“They also want to stay mentally and socially engaged, as well as maintain financial security,” Haller said. “Retirement today is less about stepping away and more about working with intention and choice.”
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