For Older Philadelphians, Retirement Isn’t a One-Size-Fits-All Decision

Although labor force participation among older adults in Philadelphia has increased over the past decade, reaching 17.4% in 2023, most Philadelphians age 65 or over are no longer employed. To better understand why some older Philadelphians have retired and others have continued working past the traditional retirement age, The Pew Charitable Trusts sought insights from a series of focus groups last fall.

In these groups, older adults who were fully retired had several frequently overlapping reasons for leaving the workforce permanently, such as:

• Physical injuries or challenges preventing them from continuing to work.
• Changes to the workplace, amplified throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Caretaking responsibilities for loved ones.
• Achieving the desired level of financial security to retire.
• The desire to spend their time freely while they are healthy and mobile.

Similarly, people 65 and older who remained in the workforce cited a number of reasons why they continued working:

• The desire to remain active and engaged.
• The need for wages and employer-based health care coverage.
• Concerns about rising costs and long-term health care.
• Adjustments to life circumstances that delayed retirement plans.

Pew contracted with SSRS, an independent research company based in Glen Mills, Pennsylvania, to conduct and analyze the findings from focus groups of Philadelphians age 65 or older, divided by employment status, to understand labor force participation decisions for this age group.

The focus groups convened in September 2025 and included 26 participants ages 67-84. Two of the groups met in person, and two met virtually over Zoom.

Individuals who were no longer working for pay and had no plans to return to work were placed in the “retired” groups, while those currently working for pay, regardless of how many hours they worked, and those considering a return to paid work were placed in the “working” groups. More detailed methods and a table of participant characteristics are available in the accompanying methodology.

Reasons for retirement varied among those who were no longer working

Those participating in the retired focus groups cited several reasons for leaving the workforce. Multiple people mentioned factors beyond their control as contributing to their decisions to retire, such as physical challenges, workplace shifts amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and responsibilities to care for friends and family members.

Others reported that feeling financially secure influenced their decision; they had become eligible for Social Security benefits or had accepted retirement offers from their employers. Some wanted to stop working while they could still enjoy themselves physically and mentally. 

Some of the participants who were not working for pay at the time of the focus groups were considering returning to work—and thus were placed in the “working” category. One of these individuals said that retired life was “boring” and that she wanted a part-time job to stay engaged and earn extra money while she was still able to do so. For others, that decision was driven by a change in financial circumstances.

Many consider employment a key component of their identity

As with the retirees, participants in the working groups discussed a variety of motivations for remaining in the workforce (or planning to return to it). Many said that working was a core component of their identity. Others chose to continue working because they felt it kept them physically active, cognitively sharp, and connected to others. These participants noted a certain comfort that accompanies waking up and having something to do or somewhere to be each day. Interestingly, only one of the seven working participants had a full-time job. Although a greater share of older workers are employed part time compared with their younger counterparts, the single full-time worker in the focus group was underrepresentative of the 62% of older, full-time workers nationwide.

Several participants described financial necessity as the primary motivator for remaining in the workforce. Many said that they needed earned income to continue living their preferred lifestyles, while one said that he had to essentially “start over” at age 50 because of his wife’s health issues and, later, her death.

On a related note, some participants mentioned that health insurance concerns kept them in the workplace—particularly those with younger spouses who were not yet eligible for Medicare and therefore needed employer-secured insurance.

Many working participants said that, as they grew older, they were able to make their work lives more enjoyable. This meant working fewer hours, switching professions, and improving work-life balance.

As with the retired groups, some participants cited changes in technology and workplace environments as a reason not to remain employed. The lone full-time worker talked about how the increase in remote work, accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, has made it easier for her to think about retiring, though she has not yet done so. 

Some common concerns emerged among both the retired and working focus groups, such as increasing living expenses and uncertainty about how to deal with long-term health care needs. However, older adults who were working generally reported higher levels of financial stability than their fully retired counterparts did, aligning with earlier research on older Philadelphians’ income sources.

But each participant cited a different set of circumstances that had led to their being retired or still working, accentuating the fact that this aspect of getting older is not experienced uniformly. That’s why it’s crucial for workforce professionals and policymakers alike to keep these various factors in mind when designing options for older adults.

Alix Sullivan is a senior officer and Karim Sharif is an associate with The Pew Charitable Trusts’ Philadelphia research and policy initiative.