"The money is useful and helpful, that's part of it," said White, who is also a World War II veteran. "Working is very therapeutic, mentally and emotionally. If you're able to, I'd say do it.
''It's a difficult market, but I don't think I'm keeping anybody out," White said, referring to the competition. "I have a lot of attributes to offer to my employers."
Less Likely
Americans 50 and over are less likely to stay with the same company until they retire than in the 1990s, said Steven Sass, associate director of the Financial Security Project at Boston College. They are better-educated and more skilled, he said.
"The labor force will look quite different," as the U.S. ages, said Sass, a former economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. "Employers who recognize this and adjust to this will have a comparative advantage."
Older staff would be useful for companies that have large sales and customer-support departments and want steady, reliable workers with fewer family responsibilities, Sass said. Firms with diverse businesses could also take advantage of the combination of skills that an older employee can offer, he said. Still, wage growth could be under pressure as "there may be a glut of older workers, relatively cheap, who need jobs," he said.
Earn Less
Workers displaced in their early 60s earn about 30 percent less in their new job than their previous one, according to the Wells Fargo study.
Tom Cavanaugh, 64, collects data for a marketing firm near his Greenfield, Wisconsin, home for $11-an-hour about four days a week. He had worked at Ford Motor Co. in Dearborn, Michigan for 30 years, the last four in marketing, before taking a buyout in 2002.
"I'd like a better-paying job with more responsibilities but I'm kind of resigned I won't get it," said Cavanaugh, who also does occasional consulting for Toyota Motor Corp. "Most times when I apply for openings they want people who are 25, not 65. They want some experience, but not too much."