More Eastern Iowa workers sticking it out past retirement

Wayne Bicknese has made a career of caring for the dogs and cats of West Union area residents, and now - 49 years after graduating veterinary school - he's caring for their grandchildren's pets.

Even after a knee replacement and a rotator cuff replacement, the 76-year-old veterinarian can't think of anything he'd rather do. If demographic experts are right, the world will be seeing a lot more people like Bicknese.

Americans are living and staying healthier longer. Retirement benefits are providing more incentives to work longer, and aging workers are coping with multiple financial pressures to continue working, from shrinking nest eggs to stagnant home values.

Bicknese carefully gauges how much age has robbed his abilities. He's experienced arthritis and some correctable vision loss. He doesn't recall names as quickly as he once did, and he finds learning new methods and procedures is a little more challenging.

Confident in his work, Bicknese said he judges his ability by comparing his performance to other veterinarians. He hopes to learn from the examples of celebrities and acquaintances who've gone on longer than they should have because they cherished their work.

“Hopefully, one can realize that (it's time to retire) by him- or herself without someone else pointing that out,” Bicknese said, “and we've all seen situations where they didn't.”

Most American companies have eliminated mandatory retirement ages, even as companies have axed defined-benefit pension plans in favor of defined-contribution plans that rise and fall with the stock market.

The age to get full retirement benefits from Social Security for those born in 1959 or later has been raised to 67.

“The traditional ‘retirement stool' of Social Security, pension savings and private savings is very wobbly,” said Kevin Cahill, research economist at Boston College's Sloan Center on Aging. “It makes financial security in retirement very unsteady.”

“The sandwich generation” is a term that Catherine Pratscher-Woods, assistant director of Davenport-based Generations Area Agency on Aging, uses for the baby boom generation.

“The economy and expense of (children's') college has been hard for a lot of people my age,” said Pratscher-Woods, 57. “We feel the economic necessity, definitely. We have people who want to build their pension back up, because they lost it in the stock market. We have people who just want the niceties.”

On top of that, Pratscher-Woods said, many aging boomers are caring for children who live at home into their 20s because they can't find living-wage jobs, and they are providing support for parents who are living longer than previous generations.

How long is too long for someone to work, though?

It's a hard question, Pratscher-Woods said, and one that can only be answered based on individual circumstances. Many self-employed professionals like Bicknese can cope with work into their golden years because they can set their own work hours.

Hourly employees have to be able to face the daily grind, and Pratscher-Woods sees a lot of older Iowans who want to work struggling with health issues such as diabetes and arthritis.

“You have to be able to show up for work every day, and you have to be able to compete with younger workers,” she said.

An employer willing to make accommodations makes the difference in some cases.

Smulekoff's department store in Cedar Rapids has given 80-year-old Chuck Welsh the flexibility to set his own hours after 56 years in furniture sales. He enjoyed working Mondays and Saturdays most of the time, filling in around the schedules of other workers, and staying in touch with longtime clients.

“I can really come and go as I want,” Welsh said. “I try to work a couple days a week. Everybody's great.”

Fitting in with a younger clientele can take adjustments. Pratscher-Woods said older workers returning to the work force sometimes have clothes and hairstyles that date them more than their physical appearance.

“We should almost have a class in what not to wear,” she said.

Some jobs seem made for the retirement-age set. It's something that Mike Duffy, director of Iowa State University's Beginning Farmer Center, must confront. He tries to match young Iowans wanting to farm with older farmers wanting to retire, so as to transfer farming knowledge, skills and even farm assets.

“We have a lot more young farmers wanting to farm than wanting to retire,” Duffy said.

When the center surveyed farmers, about half said they plan to semi-retire by turning over heavy physical work to a hired hand or younger family member and continuing to manage the farm. One fourth said they had no plans to retire ever.

“Being a farmer is who they are,” Duffy said.

After years of study, Cahill said one thing is abundantly clear to him. Working longer isn't for everybody, but it is good for most people - and for the country.

The impact on finances of working even one year longer is dramatic, Cahill said. The worker not only doesn't spend retirement assets, but saves more for retirement and sometimes accrues more employer and Social Security benefits.

Studies show that working longer keeps Americans more fit and mentally sharp, Cahill said. Older Americans who continue to work make more money, spend more and expand the economy.

“The way I see it, the fact that older workers want to stay in the labor force is a great thing,” Cahill said.

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