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Older Americans are carving out their own corner of the gig economy.
- More baby boomers are turning to $4 to earn extra income, bulk up $4 funds, or transition into retirement, according to $4.
- More than 56 million American adults freelanced in 2018, including 30% of workers over age 55.
- In general, a shift away from pension plans and greater longevity are driving more older Americans to continue working well into their retirement years.
- $4.
Step aside, millennials - older Americans are carving out their own corner of the gig economy.
In $4, Charlotte Cowles reported that a growing cohort of baby boomers are picking up independent contract work, otherwise known as $4.
Despite being popularized, and often fetishized, by the millennial generation, $4 is really just the 21st century approach to self-employment. Driving for Uber or Lyft, consulting individuals and businesses, teaching yoga, or maintaining a more "autonomous version of their previous career," are just a few ways pre-retirees and retirees are showing up in the freelance world, Cowles reported.
Baby boomers' willingness to dive into non-traditional work is as much a sign of the changing times as it is a strategy to bulk up nest eggs, rebound from job loss, or transition from a 9-to-5 into retirement.
"For many American workers, the traditional picture of retirement - turn 65, enjoy a boozy send-off with colleagues and sail into your golden years supported by a healthy pension - isn't realistic anymore," Cowles writes.
Caitlin Pearce, the executive director of the $4, the United States' largest advocacy group for independent workers, told Cowles that many Americans over 55 are beginning to venture into part-time or even full-time freelance work for extra income.
According to $4 in partnership with Upwork, more than 56 million Americans freelanced in 2018, representing about one in three adults. Specifically, 30% of folks over age 55 said they did freelance work last year, compared to 42% of 18-to-34 year olds.
Contract work can also be a useful strategy to ease into retirement. About two-thirds of the over-55 freelancers said they're doing it to transition into their golden years.
Good health is driving many older Americans to keep working
A previous analysis of US Census data by $4, an investment and financial-planning firm, found that about 20% of Americans over age 65 - a total of 10.6 million people - are $4, representing a 57-year high.
The notable increase in retirement-age workers could be explained, in part, by the shift away from workplace pensions and toward defined contribution plans, like 401(k)s, Lincoln Plews, a research analyst at United Income, told Business Insider.
In these types of plans, most of the contributions come from the worker rather than the employer, and Americans are $4. It's fair to conclude, then, that some people may need to work longer to make up for a lack of savings come retirement age. And yet, Plews said, $4 scant savings isn't what is driving most old-age workers.
Further, the numbers show there's another, more intangible, factor at play: longevity. Improved health means Americans are feeling more capable than ever, the report found. Seventy-seven percent of over-65 workers said there are no limitations in the kind of work they can do.
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