15 Extra Years, But At What Cost? How Retirees Are Learning Work-Free Living Is A Mistake

Retirement sounds like a dream. No alarm clocks. No deadlines. Just endless days of relaxation. But here's the twist: That dream is becoming a nightmare for many retirees. 

Take Russ Schmidt. At 12, his father told him, "You're not worth anything if you're not working," he recently recalled to Business Insider. Decades later, that stuck. By the time Russ retired at 66, he had spent years going above and beyond in his two careers as an administrator and nurse. "I see something that needs to be done, I do it," he said. But retirement hit him hard.

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Russ spent months bouncing between the bed and the couch, eating and watching Netflix. At first, he thought he needed the rest. Then it hit him: "This is settling into depression." Six months in, Russ got back to work. He landed a part-time gig at a sexual health clinic.

It's not just Russ. Research shows Americans are doing retirement all wrong. Sure, we imagine lounging poolside or hitting the golf course. However, according to the 2023 American Time Use Survey, retirees aged 65-74 spend seven hours a day on leisure. Four of those hours are glued to the TV. That might sound nice, but it's not good for your health or happiness. 

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Here's the problem: We're living longer than ever. A hundred years ago, life expectancy was around 60. Today, it's 77. That means more years to fill in retirement. And most aren't spending those years well. Sedentary lifestyles are linked to earlier deaths. One-third of retirees struggle to transition into life without work. 

This isn't how retirement was supposed to be. The concept dates back to 1889, when German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck created a program for people who could no longer work. In the U.S., Social Security followed in 1935, with benefits kicking in at 65, even though most didn't live that long. Now, with longer life spans and benefits starting at 66 or 67, retirees face two big challenges: how to fund their golden years and how to spend them.

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The answer for many? Keep working. Nearly 19% of Americans over 65 – about 11 million – are still employed. That's expected to hit 15 million by 2032, according to Anqi Chen, a senior research economist at the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, who spoke to Business Insider. Twenty years ago, it was under five million, she said. 

Retirement isn't about stopping. It's about staying active both physically and socially. Otherwise, those extra 15 years might feel like a curse, not a gift. 

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