There's a reason so many people end up having to work in retirement due to their financial needs.
Retirement tends to be more expensive than a lot of people anticipate. And if you don't have much in the way of savings, you may end up having to hold down a job because your Social Security benefits aren't enough to cover your expenses.
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A 2025 survey by the Employee Benefit Research Institute found that 75% of workers today think they'll have a job in retirement. And 29% of current retirees say they've worked for pay since ending their careers.
If you're entering retirement with a giant nest egg, you might assume that you don't have to consider getting a job. If your IRA or 401(k) withdrawals, coupled with your Social Security checks, are enough to cover your expenses, then why push yourself to work?
But having a job in retirement could benefit you beyond the paycheck it generates. Here are three reasons to consider working in retirement, even if you have enough savings to cover your essential costs.
1. You'll have a way to avoid boredom
Many people who work 40 hours a week or more crave downtime. But once you retire, the opposite might happen -- you may find that you have too much downtime for your own good.
The nice thing about holding down a job in retirement is that it's a way to alleviate or avoid boredom. If you're spending four hours a day, or three days a week, at a job, you may not mind if your remaining hours aren't so scheduled. You may find that between running errands, reading, watching TV, and enjoying a few hobbies, you're busy enough.
2. You'll have an opportunity to talk to people
Unless your job is such that you work from home and don't interact with anyone on a regular basis, work is probably a social opportunity for you. You're talking to people, sharing ideas and stories, and perhaps grabbing lunch on occasion.
Once you retire, you risk losing some of those social connections. But working in retirement is a great way to reestablish them. You might meet new colleagues whose company you enjoy, or you might simply appreciate random banter with clients or customers you encounter.
3. You'll have an inexpensive way to occupy your time
You may find that between your savings and Social Security, you're able to cover your essential retirement expenses without much stress. But if you don't have enough to do during the day, you might end up dipping into your IRA or 401(k) heavily to keep yourself entertained.
The nice thing about work is that it's a cheap way to stay busy. You might spend a little money getting to and from a job. But other than that, you may find that you're not spending any money to occupy a good chunk of your week. That could be your ticket to preserving your IRA or 401(k) plan balance for the long haul.
A lot of people work during retirement because they absolutely need the money. But if that's not the case, it could still pay to hold down a job once your career wraps up. Even if it's just a few hours of work each week, you may find that it allows you to stay busy and social while helping to keep your spending to a reasonable level.
Remember, too, that as a retiree, you may have the luxury of switching jobs fairly often to keep things interesting. Knowing you're not necessarily stuck in the same role for too long might make the idea of working more appealing to you on a whole.
