I’ve posted here an article I wrote for the Fall 2009 issue of Generations, the journal of the American Society of Aging. It’s about 3,000 words, so I thought I’d offer a few excerpts here ;-). I welcome all feedback.

(snip)

With jobs of any sort scarce for older workers, it may seem paradoxical to predict that this downturn will establish encore careers as the new norm for the period between the end of our midlife careers and the advent of true old age. And it sounds downright pollyannaish to suggest that older adults could play a key role in the response to national challenges, in education, healthcare, environmental sustainability and other urgent areas.

The only thing more outlandish would be to expect the revival of the late-twentieth- century-model of ever-earlier retirement spent entirely in the pursuit of leisure.

(snip)

The new vision of work will obviously vary by age and circumstance. For people who are employed, the most sensible response to the loss of savings or home equity is probably to remain in their current jobs for a few more years. But for those contemplating seven, ten, or even twelve more years of work, a career-shift may present an exciting new challenge. And for those not currently working — retirees returning to the workforce after finding their assets stretched too thin, or a worker laid off from a shrinking industry like autos or newspapers — the jump to a new field may be a practical necessity.

(snip)

Encore careers that deliver personal significance, social impact, and job satisfaction can make longer working lives an attractive and accessible proposition for both higher- and lower-income individuals. The new, older working class increasingly includes what marketers have called the “mass affluent,” now stripped of much of their affluence. Even before the downturn, a McKinsey Global Institute study found twenty-four million boomer households approaching retirement with lofty lifestyle aspirations but limited financial resources. Nearly seven out of ten households of people ages 50 to 63 were financially unprepared for retirement, the study found.

But increased institutional and financial support for encore careers for less educated and lower-income workers is particularly important to democratize the “privilege” of working longer in satisfying, purposeful jobs that is already enjoyed by the affluent and educated elites. While lower-income and less-educated workers may need the continued income more, numerous studies have shown that they are less able to continue working, both because of increased health problems and because of reduced demand for their skills. As of December 2008 men age 55 and older who did not complete high school were more than twice as likely to be unemployed as those with some college education . The scarce availability and high cost of health insurance is a major impediment to encore careers, locking many people in jobs they are otherwise ready to leave, or limiting their choices to new jobs that provide such coverage.

(snip)

An economic crisis as deep as the one we have gone through is too valuable to waste. The collapse of the old system of retirement is ushering in an era of longer working lives. A successful transition to an encore career produces a win-win: progress against social challenges and the bolstering of personal financial security. Let’s make sure that personal meaning and social impact are at the center of the new stage of work.