New Data Serves as a Temperature Check on How Older Americans Perceive the Labor Market

Some retirees are returning to work

In this first phase of the survey, we find that 6% of retirees 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: 59% of unretirees say they work because they need money or their economic outlook is poor, followed by an enjoyment of work (13%), and helping others (10%).  

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 primary reason for retiring was a health issue or disability (22%). The second-leading reason was being financially able to retire (19%); yet when pooled with access to Social Security (15%) and pension benefits (14%) having enough money to stop working jumps to 48%.

Economic necessity keeps a large portion of the 50-plus population in the workforce

Basic expenses are the number one reason older adults continue to work or  search for a job. Among survey respondents age 50-plus who are either working for pay or looking for work, the most important motivation is the need for more money to play for everyday living costs (39%). The next most common reason (a distant second) is simply enjoying the job/working (13%), followed by saving more for retirement (8%) and maintaining health insurance coverage (7%).

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 (65%) believe it would be difficult for them to find a job in today’s market, including 31% 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 (see August 2025 Employment Data Digest). 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 (34%) blame age discrimination as the reason for their anticipated difficulty. This is by far the most common response. The second-most cited reason is health issues or a disability (24%), a reason that we also see is tied to exiting the labor force altogether (see reasons for retirement above).

Methodology

Interviews were conducted over two months:  July 17–28, 2025, and August 15–18, 2025, among 2,362 adults age 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 age 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.