AARP Hearing Center
Some retirees are returning to work
Over the two waves of this survey, we find that “unretirement” has remained largely unchanged since the summer — 6% in summer 2025 and 7% in winter 2025 say they have returned to the labor market in the past six months. These unretirees are pulled back into work by financial pressures and a desire to stay active: 48% of unretirees say their primary reason to return to work is that they need money or their economic outlook is poor (59% in summer), followed by boredom (15% in winter 2025 and 9% in summer) and helping others (14% in winter 2025 and 9% in summer).
Health and financial readiness strongly influence retirement decisions
Health problems and financial security are the top drivers of retirement. Among survey respondents who have retired, the two most common reasons for retiring were a health issue or disability (21% in winter 2025 and 22% in summer) and being financially able to retire (22% in winter 2025 and 19% in summer). When pooled with access to Social Security (15% in both winter 2025 and summer) and pension benefits (13% in winter 2025 and 14% in summer), having enough money to stop working jumps to half (50% in winter 2025 and 48% in summer). While retirees largely feel they retired at the right time (68%), nearly 3 in 10 (28%) feel that they retired too early.
Economic necessity keeps a large portion of the 50+ population in the workforce
Basic expenses are the number one reason older adults continue to work or hunt for a job. Among survey respondents age 50-plus who are either working for pay or looking for work, the most important motivation is financial need for everyday living costs (41% in winter 2025 and 39% in summer). The next most common reason (a distant second) is simply enjoying the job/working (9% and 13%, respectively).
Older workers are pessimistic about finding new jobs, most commonly due to age discrimination
Most older workers expect a tough job search if they were to seek employment now. The survey asked those 50-plus how easy or difficult they think it would be to find a job “if you were looking right now.” The responses reveal significant pessimism: Two-thirds (67% in winter 2025; 65% in summer) believe it would be difficult for them to find a job in today’s market, including 32% who say it would be very difficult.
This widespread expectation of difficulty reflects a data truth: Historically, older workers stay unemployed longer after a job loss than do younger workers. Older workers perceive age discrimination as the number one barrier to finding work. Among respondents who believe finding a job would be difficult, one-third (35% in winter 2025 and 34% in summer) blame age discrimination as the main reason for their anticipated difficulty. This is by far the most common response. The second-most cited reason is health issues or a disability (22%), a reason that we also see is tied to exiting the labor force altogether.
Methodology
Winter 2025 interviews were conducted over two months: November 13 to 17, 2025, and December 11 to 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.
Summer 2025 Interviews were conducted over two months: July 17 to 28, 2025, and August 15 to 18, 2025, among 2,362 adults 50-plus in the Foresight 50+ Omnibus, including n=154 unretirees, n=1,554 retirees and n=1,198 in the workforce.
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 50 or older. 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.
For more information, please contact Rebecca Perron at rperron@aarp.org. For media inquiries, contact media@aarp.org.
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