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Retirement on Pause: High Costs Push Older Americans Back to Work
WASHINGTON—Many older Americans are returning to the workforce due to economic necessity, according to a new AARP survey of adults age 50 and older. The survey finds that in the past six months, 7% of retirees have “unretired,” or reentered the labor force. Forty-eight percent said their primary reason for returning to work is to make money, with the desire to stay active a distant second, at 14%.
“Basic expenses are the number one reason older adults continue to work or job-hunt,” said Carly Roszkowski, Vice President of Financial Resilience Programming at AARP. “With the cost of living still high and many people worried that they don’t have enough saved for retirement, the trend of older adults working longer will likely continue.”
Among people 50-plus who are either working or looking for work, 41% say their main reason is to afford everyday living costs. Additional findings reveal concerns about the labor market:
- Nearly one-quarter (24%) of older workers are concerned about losing their job within the next year.
- More than two-thirds (67%) of older workers believe it would be difficult to find a new job right now.
- Over one-third (35%) cite age discrimination as the main reason for their expected difficulty, followed by health issues or a disability (22%), which is one of the main reasons (21%) that people give for choosing to retire.
“Older workers contribute a wealth of experience, skills and perspectives to the workplace, and many are eager to learn new skills and technology,” “continued Roszkowski. “For employers, tapping into their skills and expertise makes good business sense.”
View the full survey results here, and find free tools and resources, expert advice, and job search tools designed for older workers, including AARP and Indeed’s job search platform, at aarp.org/work.
Methodology
Funded and operated by NORC at the University of Chicago, Foresight 50+ by AARP and NORC is a probability-based panel designed to be representative of the U.S. household population age 50 or older. Interviews were conducted over two months: November 13-17, 2025 and December 11-16, 2025 among 2,083 adults age 50-plus in the Foresight 50+ Omnibus, including n=136 unretirees, n=1,323 retirees, and n=1,124 in the workforce. Interviews were conducted online and via phone. All data are weighted by age, sex, education, race/ethnicity, region, and AARP membership to be nationally representative of adults age 50-plus in the U.S.
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About AARP
AARP is the nation's largest nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to empowering people 50 and older to choose how they live as they age. With a nationwide presence, AARP strengthens communities and advocates for what matters most to the 125 million Americans 50-plus and their families: health and financial security, and personal fulfillment. AARP also produces the nation's largest-circulation publications: AARP The Magazine and AARP Bulletin. To learn more, visit www.aarp.org/about-aarp/, www.aarp.org/espanol or follow @AARP, @AARPLatino and @AARPadvocates on social media.