Unretirement: Financial Incentives for Continuing to Work

Nearly a quarter of older workers who describe themselves as "retired" are still working, either full time or part time, and many say working longer pays them big dividends--financial, emotional, or both. Paul J. Lim, writing for U.S. News & World Report, details many of these advantages of "unretirement." Among other things,

• working longer gives retirees more time to save--"If you keep working for even two additional years, that's two more years to sock away money into your retirement accounts."
• retirees can delay taxes by postponing withdrawals from 401(k) and traditional IRAs;
• one can delay tapping into Social Security and thus boost monthly payments;
• retirees can maintain healthcare coverage; and
• retires can reduce their withdrawal rate in retirement.

Source: U.S. News and World Report "It literally pays to work, and money can buy peace of mind" (June 12, 2006)