When an elderly American acquaintance of mine, (who is in great physical shape and never complains about his health) told me about his plans to start working again, I was very surprised. "Mr. James, you are 67, why do you need to do this, why don't you enjoy your retirement and watch your grandchildren grow?"

He answered: "First of all, young man, if I wanted to watch my grandkids grow I'd have to get on a plane and fly to Anchorage, where my son and his family live and, to be honest, I'm not in a rush to go so far north. I've gotten used to the New York climate a long time ago. Besides, Anchorage is a big village with not much to do. Also, even though my wife and I have worked all of our lives, we still were not able to save much for retirement. Simply living off Social

Security payments is not enough to survive, but you journalists already know about that. I realized I have to go back to work. I won't earn much, but in my position every little bit helps."

American sociologists and labor market experts note that employer interest in people like Mr. James has grown significantly for a number of reasons.

Traditionally, older workers like Mr. James were avoided by most companies; however, recently attitudes have started to change. One reason cited is that experienced older workers do not need to be taught common sense like some younger workers; they tend to shift jobs

less frequently, and require less training or re-training.

Many American companies are now actively seeking out elderly workers at any cost. For example, Wal-Mart Corporation, hoping to attract these workers, sends out pamphlets advertising available positions for senior citizens to geriatric centers, churches, and libraries. I have seen such ads firsthand and can confirm that Wal-Mart is actually interested into those over 60.

The American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) quickly responded to this trend by placing on its website the Internet addresses of companies looking for mature workers. After some preliminary research, it is clear that the terms of employment are often quite tempting.

Besides the wages offered to potential elderly employees, in some cases these companies also offer health insurance, which is often considerably more substantial than Medicare.

Until the year 2000, for the majority of 65- to 69-year-old Americans it simply did not make sense to earn additional wages beyond their Social Security pension; extra income would push many seniors beyond the permitted earning caps in order to receive Social Security. After the adoption of the Senior Citizens' Freedom to Work Act five years ago, this obstacle was removed. Still, it should be noted that if someone chose to receive his or her Social Security pension before turning 65 and then wanted to earn additional income, the prior rule will still

apply – any earnings above $11,280 per year will be deducted from the pension.

A recent trend shows that more and more Americans are choosing to begin receiving their pensions before turning 65. In his article "The Aging of America," economist Robert Samuelson notes that "in 1995, 58 percent of workers went on Social Security at age 62 and 20 percent between the ages of 63 and 64."

In the 1950s early retirement practically did not exist. Only in 1956 did Congress pass a law concerning pension payments for women aged 62, and in 1961 a similar law was passed for men of the same age. Today, people are living longer and pension payments follow accordingly. Today a 65-year-old man, with a life expectancy of an additional 16 years than the same average American man in 1950, can expect to receive Social Security pension on average for three years longer than his 50s counterpart; a 65-year-old woman can expect to receive the pension for four additional years, living 19 years longer than women did 50 years ago.

So then, where is one most likely to come across these post-retirement workers? According to figures from the Labor Department, they can be found working in business, medical offices (typically as nurses), but most commonly in the retail sector. The reasons are apparent. Retail

employee turnover is very high; the annual average turnover rate is 60 percent (that is not taking into account temporary workers). New workers need training, which is a big drain on resources. Lowering turnover rates saves large corporations millions of dollars per year.

Last year, more than a third of American men and approximately a quarter of American women 65 to 69 years old were working.

These numbers speak about the increasing proportion of elderly workers in the labor market. In 1994, working males from 65 to 69 years of age comprised approximately 27 percent of the total labor market, and in 2004 the figure has grown to 33 percent. The proportion of working

women has correspondingly increased, growing respectively from 18 to 23 percent.

Like my friend James, many of these people would likely not be working if their retirement savings were adequate. According to data from the Census Bureau and the Federal Reserve, millions of pensioners are faced with the same difficult scenario of insufficient retirement

savings.

But even those who managed to save something for their "golden years" do not feel totally safe. Today, the 47.5 million American families who saved for retirement on average only have $27,000. This is a very modest sum to maintain a comfortable old age. The government, economists, and the media have issued calls for people to change their attitudes toward saving and to begin to put aside money as soon as possible. Time, as they say, will not wait. The advice to save for old age is fine; however, every year it is becoming more difficult to simply support a family on a single income, let alone save anything. The government's call to save appears especially cynical in light of the recent Senate approval of new bankruptcy laws that will soon deprive millions of American families of the possibility to write-off their debts. After declaring bankruptcy, some debts could have been channeled towards retirement. Now banks, whose profits have been soaring in recent years, will have to be paid back.

It is then no surprise that 67-year-old James has to roll-up his sleeves again. His choice is simple – either live counting every penny for the rest of his life, or work, work, work.