Are you planning on working in retirement? [View all]

[CTyankee]

You probably won't, according to this NYT article: When Retirement Comes Early

In her years as a probation officer north of Dallas, Patricia Lowell reckoned that she would work until age 65, confident that she could then retire halfway comfortably on her pension and Social Security. After retiring, she thought, she would pick up some extra spending money by working part-time retail jobs during the holiday season.

In that way, Ms. Lowell was like the three out of four Americans who say they plan to continue working after they retire from their main job.

But for Ms. Lowell, things did not turn out as planned. At age 58, she quit her job as a probation officer for Grayson County in order to care for her mother, who had cancer, diabetes and congestive heart failure. Her decision to leave her job of 23 years, she said, was made possible only by Texas’ then-recent decision to provide health insurance to longtime probation officers who retire before they qualify for Medicare at age 65.

“I wanted to continue working, but then this opportunity came up allowing me to retire and take care of my mother,” Ms. Lowell said. “It all came together very nicely.” She retired in late 2004, spending dozens of hours each week caring for her mother, who died in 2010 at age 92.

full article here: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/13/business/retirementspecial/the-gray-jobs-enigma.html?ref=retirementspecial