Heading Back to Work with Meaning

(ARA) – Jim Wyner is having the time of his life. He lives in La Jolla, Calif., and although he retired six years ago, he’s ecstatic about his new career after retirement. And Jim is not alone. The nation is experiencing large numbers of executives retiring, and this generation of retirees is not sitting at home playing bingo. These Baby Boomers are looking to give back to their professional community and aiming to positively affect the lives of other executives.

At 64, Wyner retired from Peak Technologies where he was the president and chief operating officer. He retired to Southern California, and was really looking forward to relaxing and spending a lot of time with his family. Just a few months later, Jim found his “next” career — and has never been happier.

“I was tired of business travel, but I also couldn’t sit at home waiting for the social security check to come in,” says Wyner. “I found that after I retired I didn’t think twice about going back to work, it was simply the next step of my life.”

Wyner jumped back into the workforce by becoming an executive coach with Vistage International. Companies such as Vistage are adapting to the needs of the “new” workforce by offering retirees a chance to use their knowledge and wisdom to guide the younger generations moving into senior executive roles.

The AARP indicates 70 to 80 percent of Americans plan to work after retirement and not because they have to, because they want to. Baby Boomers are becoming more active in their community, serving on boards, joining membership groups and volunteering after they retire.

Sixty-eight percent of executive coaches, or Chairs, at Vistage are retirees who chose to go back to work. Offering them great flexibility and time to enjoy the benefits of a retirement lifestyle, a Chair builds and facilitates groups of CEOs and senior executives wanting to grow their businesses.

Jim Wyner is now in his fifth year of being a Vistage Chair and says he loves it. Much like Jim, Dan Barnett, former chief operating officer at Vistage, recently decided it was his time to retire and spend more time with his family. Not wanting to leave the company completely, he “retired” to become a Chair and now leads a group in the Reno/Lake Tahoe area.

“It is my time to retire, not my time to stop working,” says Barnett, “Working as a Chair allows me to spend more time with my family while helping others through my experiences.”

This is a trend likely to continue. Looking forward, the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics has projected the number of employed Americans ages 55 to 64 will increase by 51 percent by 2012, while the number ages 65 to 74 will increase by 48 percent. In 2002 about one in seven employed Americans was 55 or older; in 2012 that share will be close to one in five.

Just like thousands of their Baby Boomer peers, Jim and Dan are discovering that working after retirement is no longer a trend; it is a lifestyle. The next generation needs the wisdom of Baby Boomers. With such a large gap between generations it is important to pass along the knowledge and take advice from those who know best; from those who have been at the top.

Articel courtesy of ARAcontent