The Retiree Startups
by Robert McGarvey
First comes golf, lots of it. Good Scotch. Some travel. Lots of TV … and then what?
The surprising answer is that for many retirees, their answer is to work. Maybe more surprisingly still, lots of them turn to self-employment and that means a startup. That’s proven by numbers from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), which show that the fastest growing age cohort in the workforce is 75 and older, and self-employment is chosen by more who are 65+ than by any other age cohort.
Around one in every six of those who are 65+ are self-employed. The next highest group, by the way, are those 55-64 where 9% are self-employed, per BLS.
Why? The reasons are as varied as are seniors, but a fact that comes through loud and clear is that the US is at the very beginning of a silver tsunami where retired seniors declare “not me,” and work again. Some do it for the money while others do it for fun. Still, others seek to solve a need they are passionate to address.
Here are there stories.