Washington Leads Nation in Putting Off Retirement

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Washington region leads the nation in the number of people working past age 65, according to Census figures released Wednesday.

Nationally, the share of people 65 to 74 who were still working jumped from one in five in 2000 to one in four in 2006. In the D.C. area, about one-third of people in that age range were still working.

Census statistics don't offer much insight into the motivation of older workers. But researchers say it appears many older workers feel they can't afford to retire because of high health care costs and dwindling pensions.

Positive influences also may influence the decision to keep working. Those influences include the need for highly skilled, intellectual workers, laws prohibiting age discrimination and laws that allow people to draw Social Security when working past retirement age.

Information from: The Washington Post

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