For baby boomers, 'retirement' may just mean a new job

John McGinness, the 50-year-old sheriff of Sacramento County, jokes that if he had to chase a criminal the bad guy would have to help him out of the patrol car first.

It's no joke that he could be making more money if he retired and quit the force he joined in 1979.

But he isn't.

"I'm working for nothing," he said.

Actually, he's working for personal gratification. And because he can.

For many baby boomers like him, middle age won't mean a gold watch and a porch swing. Either by choice or necessity, many boomers intend to work beyond traditional retirement, employment services say.

Proposed federal laws that could shore up health coverage and a U.S. Senate hearing later this month will focus new attention on older workers. Employee incentives such as flexible schedules, and a lot of buzz, are creating an inviting atmosphere for longer work lives.

It could mean a second "encore" career, the way former President Clinton is now focused on poverty and AIDS, or extending a career, like McGinness.

A survey of 50- to 65-year-old workers done for the federal government in August found that 29 percent of 55- to 59-year-olds plan to work beyond 65.

Bob Haagenson will retire at 57, but he won't stop working.

He packed up his Land Park home recently and headed for a new four-bedroom home in the Corpus Christi, Texas, area. And a new job, as soon as he finds one.

Until a few days ago, he oversaw a $22 million budget as a chief administrator for Sacramento County's Finance Department. He has a 20-year military career behind him, along with nearly 14 years at the county. Why stop now?

"Even the Realtor said, 'Wow, you can get a job anywhere you want,' " Haagenson said.

He's checking help-wanted ads and the federal government Web site, but his main goal is to stay out of the house and off the sofa.

"I'd probably be happy handing out carts at Wal-Mart," he said.

Steve Sass of the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College is co-author of "Working Longer," a book due out in May.

The golden age of retirement – with hefty private pensions, abundant medical insurance and adequate Social Security at 65 – is disappearing as baby boomers reach the finish line, Sass said.

To ensure a retirement comparable to a generation ago, baby boomers will have had to save more or work longer, he said.

But there's good news, he said: "You don't have to work until you're 80."

Just working three or four years longer will boost Social Security benefits by a third, he said. (Calculate your Social Security at www.ssa.gov/OACT/ quickcalc/index.html).

Delaying 401(k) withdrawals should also offer similar boosts, Sass said.

Sass suggests workers clearly convey their plans to employers if they intend to stick around.

"Maybe they'll invest in you, promote you," he said.

The timing could be fortuitous for longer work lives: Baby boomers are healthier and better educated, Sass noted. And they are among the first to forge identities largely from their work.

That means workers in this generation treasure the trappings of work, such as social networks, and are reluctant to let go, said David Bank, who is vice president of Civic Ventures, a San Francisco nonprofit think tank promoting encore careers.

Where the employment sector was once designed to move workers into retirement, private and public employers are looking at how to retain or hire them, he said.

Some examples:

• On the East Coast, retired Teamsters are still driving, but they're shuttling people to doctor appointments or other errands.

• In New York, health clubs are hiring older physical-fitness trainers to work with older members.

Placer County surveyed its employees in 2003 to size up the work force and plan for departing boomers.

Popular incentives were shorter work weeks, flexible schedules and a return to the rank and file for management employees, said Nancy Nittler, the county's personnel director.

"That information has been real valuable," she said.

Of the 716 eligible for retirement in the subsequent three-year period, 500 left.

About the writer:

• Call The Bee's M.S. Enkoji, (916) 321-1106.