Mature Visions of the Lehigh Valley – A Morning Call Supplement

Date Published: Winter, 2002

by Fred Jurant
Photography by Phillip Stein


We’ve all heard tales about people who work at one job for 40 years, retire with solid pensions, then just sit back to enjoy life. Lately, that scenario is being filed under “fiction.”

In fact, Cornell University surveyed more than 600 workers at a half-dozen corporations over a five-year period. Nearly half of those employees had plans to continue working after retiring from their “regular” jobs.

In an informative article published in the April 13 2001 issue of Business Week, Phyllis Moen (a Cornell professor of sociology and human development, and the principal investigator in the study) noted that, “People who are retired today are healthier, better educated and more vigorous that ever before.”

In short, there are an awful lot of folks who view 65 as nothing more then a speed limit.



Benefits of Working Seniors

Smart business managers are starting to realize that older workers offer an invaluable resource. Retirees often have 40 year or more of accumulated work experience and know what works - as well as what doesn’t.

Kevin Flemming, director of sales and marketing for Integrity Personnel, Allentown agrees. He says, “Retirees are some of the best employees in terms of attitude toward work, which is very positive – having a good work ethic, and demonstrating their maturity, both in judgment and on-the-job common sense.”

Several major corporations have already taken steps to avail themselves of this resource. Check your local McDonald’s – there are many older workers behind the counters of the “Golden Arches.” Wal-Mart, in particular boasts that more than 97,000 of its associates are over the age of 55.

Production workers at Bonne Bell, a national manufacturer of cosmetics and beauty aids, are men and women in there 60s and 80s – including a great-grandmother in her 90s!

Obviously, working after you’ve reached the “golden age” can be a win-win situation. Employers benefit from long-term workers’ accumulated knowledge, and there reliable work habits can influence others.

Who makes up this growing class?
Flemming says working retires fall into two general types: those that are working to stay active, and those that need extra cash to supplement their pensions and Social Security checks.
Statistically, the first group is larger. According to the Cornell study, 90 percent of those with post-retirement working plans wanted “to be productive…not to throw in the towel,” says Moen

But why after 40 years, would someone NOT want to loaf? The reasons given were as varied as the study participants. Over 70 percent of the present and future retirees sad they’d want the flexibility to do other things. More then half simply took advantage of their employer’s early-retirement package or pension plan.
Other reasons included having free time, and supplementing their pensions. But only 41 percent said they really needed the money. These are the retirees who don’t have a choice. And some of them will have a tough time finding other work.
People who help seniors find work
That’s where people like Susan Shanahan, director of the AARP Foundation Senior Employment organization in Bethlehem, come in.
Her group provides job training and placement services for “55-plussers” who have limited income. There are no fees for its services; both job seekers and those with jobs to fill can benefit from them.

Admission to the program is based on income, but Shanahan cautions that each case is considered individually. “Don’t assume you won’t be eligible. Call us first,” she says.

Those qualifications vary because there is no typical client profile. “For some,” she says, “Social Security checks just aren’t big enough to support their lifestyle. Others are over 55 and are well educated, even with college degrees, and impressive work histories, but they’ve been searching so long that their financial resources are depleted. Still others seek to reinvent themselves, because they need the structure of going to work ever day.”

During a personal appointment with an intake specialist, program applicants provide their work history and other facts and receive a general assessment of skills, and aptitudes and interests.

An AARP employment specialist then seeks a good match with a local no-profit group. The result is often 20 hours per week of on-the-job training…polishing old skills, developing new ones, and getting that all-important practical work experience. Typical jobs might be clerical, filing or phone work.
The service also sometimes pays an individual to work in the private sector for a limited amount of time (much like an internship). Shanahan says she’s placed clients with Lehigh Valley International Airport, area hotels, the YMCA and many other employers. “Smaller businesses seem to be more receptive to our programs than big corporations,” she observes.