Some workers in Eau Claire just can't quit, others don't want to

By Mark Koenig
koenigmt@uwec.edu

When she sold her restaurant in 2002, ending a 30-year career in the food service industry, Rosemary Chase could have retired comfortably, but she had plans. Chase and her husband looked to continue their business ventures by purchasing a tavern to ease into their retirement years.

“I think it’s very hard for a person to just slow down because they can’t handle the idleness,” Chase said.

But life doesn’t always go as planned. Chase’s husband died in 2002, and the man she sold her restaurant to went bankrupt, sticking her with a $93,000 bill, Chase said.

Chase, now 52, put her house up for sale and works about 40 hours a week as the opening manager at Erbert and Gerbert’s, 409 Water St. She works to make sure she has steady income.
           
“I’m not selling my house just for the money … it’s hard to keep everything in working condition by myself,” she said.
           
In a steadily increasing trend, 50- to 65-year-olds are staying in the workforce working what are called bridge jobs. For some, working is necessary for income; for others, it’s a way to stay active in their early retirement years.

According to Joseph Quinn, economist and co-author of a 2005 working paper from the Center on Aging and Work at Boston College, bridge jobs are “jobs between a full-time career job after age 49 and complete labor force withdrawal.” According to Quinn, they’re often part-time, but sometimes are full-time, and they typically don’t last as long as what he calls a career job.

Yet, there are those who have officially retired but continue to work. Stephen Katrosits, 64, is a former professor in the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire’s Art and Design Department. He has been retired for three years and will teach a class during the university’s spring semester.

“I do not consider teaching to be a bridge job, nor do I depend on them (bridge jobs) to supply my income,” Katrosits said.

The department needed to offer a course that no other professor could teach, so he decided to help out, he said.

“The only downside I anticipate is getting up early in the morning two days a week,” Katrosits said.

Retirement came at a point in his life when the timing was right, he said, not because he was tired of working.

“I had not really planned on when to retire, nor ever gave it much thought,” Katrosits said. “At some point several years ago, it just seemed right, and I looked into the possibility and did it. And it still is right.”

Retirement
           
Merriam-Webster defines retiring as withdrawing from action or danger. Although some retirees may disagree with this definition – as their careers may not have included an abundance of action or danger – the definition implies a change from being active to inactive.

And becoming inactive is not in Chase’s monthly planner.

“Someday I will have to retire, hopefully with a little style and grace … I’m too busy right now with other things to worry about it,” she said.

In an August 2006 analysis of federal employment data by Challenger, Gray and Christmas, an outplacement company, “the number of workers over 55 reached its highest level recorded, 24.6 million.” And finding jobs has not become more difficult with age, data indicates. The same study finds that “the median job search time for those 50 and older was virtually equal to that of younger job seekers.”

The reason 50- or 60-year-olds can get the same job as someone years younger is because they sometimes have more work experience and life experience, Chase said.

According to Quinn’s study, this can be attributed to the upcoming era of baby boomers reaching retirement age and redefining it.

“The reason is simple: fundamental changes in Social Security, private pensions, health, and longevity mean that many Americans will be unable to finance 20 or more years of leisure … without a significant reduction in living standards,” according to the study.

This abundance of baby boomers in the workforce may also influence the labor force of the future.

“It depends on when and how they leave the labor force,” Quinn said. “Since so many will be leaving, their departure could create labor shortages in the future.”     

Links:

Access economic studies on retirement by Joseph Quinn, economist and co-author of a 2005 working paper from the Center on Aging and Work at Boston College.

Read about Erbert and Gerbert's, where 52-year-old Rosemary Chase works as the opening manager at the Water Street store. Chase is working to ensure that she has a steady income.