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A new study from AARP shows that some Americans over 50 are returning to work after retirement.
The non-profit organization representing people over 50 says most “non-retired” people surveyed said they were motivated to make money given today’s high cost of living.
AARP’s findings show that 7% of retirees have rejoined the workforce in the past six months, up from 6% who said the same in summer 2025. The latest poll results are based on responses from 2,083 adults aged 50 and older interviewed in November and December. This follows a summer survey of 2,362 adults aged 50 and over conducted in July and August.
“The idea that retirement is a cliff and that we’re all striving for this day that we’re going to retire is not really a reality for many people in this country,” said Carly Roszkowski, vice president of AARP’s Financial Resilience Program.
According to AARP, the two most common reasons people retire are financial readiness or health problems or disabilities.
Among those not currently retiring, 48% said their primary reason was financial necessity or a worsening economic outlook, 15% cited boredom and 14% said they wanted to stay active, according to the AARP survey.
Of those surveyed who are working or looking for work, 41% said their biggest motivator was the cost of daily living.
Not retiring can be difficult
But AARP’s findings also showed that these workers are not necessarily finding a welcoming labor market.
The results showed that more than two-thirds (67%) of older workers said it was difficult to find a new job right now. The top reason was age discrimination, followed by health problems and disabilities.
Meanwhile, almost a quarter (24%) of older workers are worried about losing their job within the next year, the survey found. New data shows job layoffs in January were the highest to start a year since the 2009 global financial crisis, according to outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
“Just because people don’t retire doesn’t mean they don’t need to retire,” said Jeffrey Sanzenbacher, professor of economics practice at Boston University and a fellow at Boston University’s Retirement Research Center. He investigated trends among non-retirees.
Rather, those who remain retired may have their ability to work limited by health conditions or lack of opportunity.
“People are really sensitive to inflation.”
Sanzenbacher said older adults currently face a difficult combination of higher-than-normal inflation, volatile stock prices and a weak job market.
He said retirees typically either rely on Social Security only when they’re old enough to receive retirement benefits, or they combine those benefits with retirement investments.
But if the stock market doesn’t provide the needed returns and Social Security’s annual cost-of-living adjustments don’t provide enough financial support, people may return to the labor market, Sanzenbacher said.
“People are really sensitive to inflation,” Sanzenbacher said. “Even if your income increases, if the things you buy are expensive, I think you will still feel constrained.”
AARP is committed to providing resources to assist older adults with employment. Roszkowski said this includes working with job site Indeed to compile a list of organizations that value seniors and employees of all ages.
Recently returned to work from retirement and would be happy to share your story? Email lorie.konish@cnbc.com.
