At 88, Harvey Mendelson proves that reinvention knows no age. His decades-long career spans stockbroking, real estate, car sales, and entrepreneurship. Now, this California photographer runs a successful photo gallery and print shop, defying retirement norms and embracing a vibrant, independent life. His story is part of Business Insider's "80 over 80" series, showcasing the inspiring journeys of older Americans who continue to work and thrive
At 88, Harvey Mendelson, a lifelong entrepreneur with a career spanning stockbroking, real estate, and car sales, has found his latest venture: photography. This California-based octogenarian now runs a successful photo gallery and digital printing business, proving that reinvention and passion know no age limit
At 88, California photographer Harvey Mendelson thrives running a vibrant photo gallery and digital printing business within a local theater. His entrepreneurial journey, spanning decades from stockbroking to real estate, now finds fulfillment in his art. Debt-free and financially comfortable, Mendelson credits his enduring success to a simple philosophy: avoiding lifestyle inflation in retirement. This inspiring octogenarian exemplifies the growing trend of active seniors finding purpose and satisfaction in continued work
Retirement at 65? It feels like three days later you're 80! As 88-year-old photographer Harvey Mendelson says, finding fulfilling work—and maintaining independence—is key to a happy, active retirement
At 88, Harvey Mendelson proves that retirement can be reinvented. He's one of nearly 550,000 Americans aged 80+ who continue working, soon joining the 36,000+ who work past 90. His thriving photography business demonstrates the active, fulfilling lives many seniors enjoy
Silent Generation Still Working: Business Insider interviewed over 100 people born between 1928 and 1945 — from bookkeepers and lawyers to Home Depot employees — who continue working part-time, driven by both passion and financial needs. Many enjoy the social interaction and active lifestyle, with half reporting the extra income is supplemental rather than essential. Discover their stories and insights into healthy aging and fulfilling careers
Working Past 80: Inspiring Stories & Financial Wisdom from Business Insider's "80 Over 80" Series. Discover the secrets to thriving after 80, featuring interviews with over 80 individuals who continue to work. Learn about their careers, retirement planning, healthcare, and life lessons. Share your story! Contribute to the series if you're 80+ and still working
Many older Americans continue working past 80, supplementing retirement income and maintaining financial security. Driven by necessity or desire, some brave health challenges like cancer, heart failure, and arthritis to remain active and engaged. This highlights the growing trend of older adults working beyond traditional retirement age, prioritizing independence and financial stability
Americans 75+ are increasingly remaining in the workforce, a trend fueled by weakening pensions and projected Social Security shortfalls. This rapidly growing segment of the labor force is now twice as large as it was in the early 1990s, with continued growth expected
Working Beyond 80: Why More Seniors Are Choosing to Stay Employed. Experts reveal how continued work contributes to sharper minds and fulfilling lives for older Americans, challenging traditional retirement norms. Discover inspiring stories and insights from the growing number of people thriving in their careers well into their 80s and beyond
Working past 70: Is it sustainable? While many seniors like 88-year-old photographer Harvey Mendelson thrive in later-life careers, economist Teresa Ghilarducci cautions that prolonged work, especially in poor conditions, can negatively impact health and well-being, potentially shortening lifespan and causing undue stress
Business Insider analyzed the latest 2023 American Community Survey data from the Census Bureau and IPUMS to reveal insights into America's aging workforce. This in-depth study examined individual responses from Americans aged 80 and older, exploring their employment rates, occupations, demographics, and income compared to the general population
Top jobs for Americans over 80 include management, sales, law, driving, and real estate, with popular industries spanning education, construction, and religious organizations. Discover the surprising careers of older workers and their inspiring stories
In 2023, the median income for Americans aged 80 and older working was $57,100. While a third earned less than $40,000—often supplementing retirement income with part-time work—a significant 26% earned over $100,000 annually, with over 10% exceeding $200,000
Construction Leads the Way: America's 80+ Workforce. For over 17,000 managers aged 80 and above, construction is the dominant industry, dwarfing others like finance, consulting, mining, and scientific research. Nearly 2,400 octogenarian managers work in construction—four times more than any other sector. This trend extends to CEOs, with those in their 80s and 90s frequently leading construction firms, along with executive offices, real estate, tech, and food services. Discover the stories of America's thriving older workforce
“Real estate agents are entrepreneurs who can’t just sit on the couch or be in the office all day,” said Lawrence Yun, chief economist at the National Association of Realtors. He said the flexible hours make it a retirement-friendly job that also offers “the intangible benefits and inner satisfaction that come from helping others.”
At 93, Bobbie Beckham Sellers manages her rental properties part-time. The Tennessee resident is refurbishing a property she bought 30 years ago and plans to do the same for two other houses. She oversees about 30 properties.
Her late husband encouraged her to start a realty company with $1,000, which she opened in 1972. It’s now one of the largest in her county. After decades of running the business, she retired and asked her son to take over broker management about seven years ago. She said she has always been frugal.
“I really enjoy continuing to work, and I enjoy every minute that I do,” Sellers said. “Quitting my real estate career was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done in my whole life. It took me at least four years to not feel guilty about not going to that office.”
Within construction, workers 80 and older were most likely to be laborers, managers, carpenters, CEOs, plumbers, or electricians.
Retail salespeople gravitated most to building material and supplies dealers, warehouse clubs, automobile dealers, and clothing retailers. Nearly a dozen retail workers told BI they were paid slightly above minimum wage in these roles and took the jobs because they couldn’t find anything in their fields.
Richard Jackson, an 81-year-old Marine veteran, started a construction company five decades ago that’s still in operation.
After some acquisitions, Jackson now oversees three companies with his children: CR Jackson, a grading and paving company; Satterfield Construction, which specializes in asphalt services; and N. W. White & Company, which operates about 400 dump trucks throughout South Carolina. With his son, Steven, and daughter, Elizabeth, Jackson’s companies have over 1,000 employees, operate 11 asphalt plants, and pave in 36 of the state’s 46 counties.
Jackson works when he wants to, sometimes coming in later in the day for meetings and letting his children handle more of the logistical tasks. He maintains his commercial driver’s license and has occasionally driven a dump truck. His son said he and Elizabeth don’t consider themselves owners but rather “stewards” of what Jackson built.
“We don’t make strategic acquisitions or market moves without consulting with him and making sure that he sees what we see, and that he agrees with what we’re agreeing with,” Steven Jackson said.
Over 10% of all workers 80 and older live in California, followed by Florida and New York. Workers were slightly more likely to be born in the US than the general population.
Working Americans 80 and older were more educated than the general population in that age group. Nearly 42% of the working cohort had a bachelor’s degree or higher, compared to just under 27% of the whole population.
People working late into their careers tended to be white and male. Nearly 60% were men, though men represent 40% of the total 80+ population.
The percentage of workers 80 and older, compared to all Americans 80 and older, has ticked up over the last four decades. While 2.9% of people 80 and older worked in 1980, this has increased to nearly 4% in 2019 and 4.2% in 2023.
For much of his life, Leonard Carter, who lives in rural South Carolina, worked at his family’s textile byproducts company, buying cotton and mill waste from cotton mills and recycling them into new products. He supplied fiber fill for pillows for caskets and described selling 40,000-pound loads at 50 cents per pound. At 82, he now oversees operations — processing orders, arranging shipments, and calling clients. It beats watching TV all day, he said.
Carter, who works about 20 hours a week, said he has enough to live comfortably well past 100, as he has a high-six-figure IRA and gets $2,500 monthly from Social Security. Still, between multiple marriages, rising costs, and some tougher years with the business, finances haven’t always been secure.
He goes on work trips to the Midwest, and he stays active in his community, attending Rotary Club meetings and volunteering at historic sites nearby.
“I tell people I’m coming out of this office feet first,” Carter said. “It’s a sense of purpose, and it’s also a sense of knowing I’m doing something good, which is recycling stuff that would go to landfills.”
A data analysis of people 80 and older by United For ALICE, part of United Way of Northern New Jersey, calculated that of the nearly 550,000 workers 80 and older, about 73% are above the ALICE threshold, the minimum income needed to afford basic living expenses. This suggests that most workers in this demographic are not desperate for additional income, though thousands still work to supplement their Social Security.
Stephanie Hoopes, national director of United For ALICE, said that many seniors may take on part-time work for a little extra boost of financial security. And employers may need them.
“There are parts of the country where they’re struggling to get workers, such as in the retail and service space, and they may be quite interested in hiring seniors because they’re maybe more dependable,” she said.
John Kasun, 86, has had a long and winding career. While working in engineering, he started selling archery equipment out of his basement. He hired six part-time workers and kept his full-time job.
Kasun, who lives in Pennsylvania, also wrote for an outdoor magazine and worked for a railroad rehabilitation company. While working, he invested all his extra money and spent frugally, splurging every once in a while on items like an ATV.
“For me, money is like having a goose that lays a golden egg every Monday; if you eat it on Sunday, you don’t get an egg on Monday,” Kasun said. “I don’t want anything to happen to me that I can’t handle financially, and I don’t want any conditions to dictate to me what I have to do.”
Kasun now writes part-time for a magazine. He has about $1.5 million in liquid assets and receives about $80,000 in retirement income from Social Security and the railroad company.
He doesn’t consider himself retired, and after a heart attack last summer, he likes to keep busy by picking up random tasks for his community.
“I’m a problem-solving guy, and anytime I see anything that I can get involved in or where I can be of help, I jump in,” Kasun said. “I see opportunities all the time. It’s almost like I wear special glasses.
Source: Original Article