It's Not Quitting Time, Yet
By: Source: AARP.org Date Posted: 2004-09-09 11:24:00-04:00
Work. For some people it's just a dirty four-letter word. But for others it's a passion.
"It's never even occurred to me to retire," 62-year old Jack Turner said. "Nor can I ever recall hearing the word in 25 years of guide meetings."
Turner is a senior guide with the prestigious Exum Mountain Guides, located just outside of Jackson Hole. He's climbed the Grand Teton about 400 times in his life, mostly with students in tow.
"We keep doing it primarily because we're junkies," he said of himself and the other 75 Exum guides — eight of whom are in their 60s (one turns 70 this year) and 25 of whom are in their 50s. It's a lot of strain to put on your body, but Turner said he will keep doing it until he dies or his knees give out.
He seemed surprised that anyone would question continuing his profession at his age and then reflected on a trend he has seen over the years.
"More and more of our clients are in their 50s and 60s," he said, adding that he has taken people between the ages of 8 and 74 up the Grand Teton, one of the nation's premier mountain climbs.
Turner, also an author, knows he has the credentials to work almost anywhere — Denali, Machu Picchu or even Everest — but he said he chose Wyoming and hasn't regretted that decision.
"I fell in love with Wyoming," he said, recalling his first visit to the Cowboy State when he was 18.
JoAnne Brown didn't have the same first impression of Wyoming.
"I came here when I was younger and thought, 'desolate,'" Brown said.
Her impression of Wyoming changed later in life when she and her husband Marvin took their daughter to Lander to participate in a National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) course.
"We went into [the Safeway store] to get coffee while dropping our daughter off at NOLS, and we found that they didn't sell any, but the store clerk went and got some from the employee break room," Brown said. "I had always thought we would retire in Colorado, but I was tired of the traffic in Denver and the hassle. I wanted to get back to my roots and live in a place where people have time to be friendly."
Now Brown and her husband own and run a bed and breakfast in Lander that they bought just days after returning to Lander to pick up their daughter at the conclusion of her NOLS course.
"Ten years ago, we thought we would do this until our health fails, and planned on a 10-year commitment," Brown said. "Well, we've re-upped our contract for another 10 years. It's a reason to get out of bed in the morning. Sure, when you have guests leave, you think about retiring, but then two days later, I'm ready for more."
Both Turner and Brown said the financial incentives for moving to Wyoming never entered into their plans. A lack of state income tax, inexpensive housing and low property taxes were more like pleasant bonuses. They both said it was the beauty of Wyoming, the way of life here and the access to nature that made them take the leap and not look back.
"I knew we would make it work, somehow," Brown said.
Laura Ridley ended up in Cody for much the same reason. Her second husband had been stationed at an Air Force Base here when he was younger and fell in love with Wyoming. He told Ridley that he wanted to move to Cody from Georgia.
At first, she said she worried about finding work. She wasn't financially ready to retire and also needed the benefits that come with full-time work. She had heard that all there was in Cody was seasonal and part-time jobs, but the two moved anyway and fortunately Ridley was able to find full-time employment working for the City of Cody.
"In all honesty, I would love to stop working and go travel, but we didn't set enough money aside for retirement," Ridley said. "We couldn't. I was helping my parents and funded college for my kids."
Ridley asked her new friends and co-workers in Cody why they continue to work past the traditional age of retirement. She said 57% are still supporting their families (either kids, grandkids or their parents) and that all of them said that they continue to work because of insurance and the supplemental income it provides. But she said they all added that they love to work and like the mental and social aspects of going to work on a regular basis.
Ridley's findings correlate with a recent national survey done by AARP on baby boomers and their plans for retirement. Most said they will not retire. They may change careers or shift their positions to ones with less responsibility or even cut back to part-time status, but it seems that the days of hanging up your hat at 65 years old are a thing of the past. And that might not be a bad thing for Wyoming.
Wenlin Liu, with the Wyoming Economic Analysis Division, said that Wyoming's median age is rising faster than any other state and the national average.
"In 1980, we were the third youngest state in the nation," Liu said.
But a 30-year trend of having a higher-than-average baby boomer population, combined with the recent loss of some youth, has Wyoming on the fast track to lead the nation with the largest percentage of residents age 65 and older. According to U.S. Census projections, Wyoming will bump states like Florida and Arizona out of the top ranks to claim that title by the year 2020.
Clare Hushbeck, an economist with AARP, said that the future of work and the image of workers will have to change to accommodate this shift in demographics.
"Older workers want to remain working," Hushbeck said. "Most love what they do. Some need to continue earning a paycheck. They tell us that they don't want to stop working just because they have reached an arbitrary age that someone deemed to be quitting time."
Joann Schrader of Cody said this trend may be just what she's been looking for.
"For years, I've been frustrated trying to find committed, passionate employees," said Schrader, the owner of Schrader Metal and Design. "I was looking to hire kids fresh out of school to work for me, but now I'm going to change the way I look at applications and potential employees."
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