More Valley retirees heading back to work

Beverly McCants has survived two bouts of cancer and the birth of three great-grandchildren, but at age 65, she still wakes up and, four mornings a week, goes to work.

McCants, an employee at Walgreens on Estrella Parkway and Van Buren Street in Goodyear, is just one of a growing number of Valley residents who have continued to work past retirement age or have come out of retirement. And with an economic slump in full effect, the number of people ages 55 and older in the labor market has been steadily rising.

David Mitchell, state director of the Arizona AARP, said a nationwide trend shows retirement-age individuals are increasingly choosing not to give up their jobs. He cited a recent national survey showing that up to 80 percent of baby boomers are not planning to retire at 65 but intend on staying in the workforce as full- or part-time employees, often in fields entirely different from the one in which they currently work.

While many just aren't emotionally ready to retire, concerns over health-care coverage and insufficient pension benefits motivate others to keep up their toils.

McCants, whose rosy cheeks and infectious energy belie her two bouts of chemotherapy, smiles as she asks a young man buying cigarettes for his identification at her Walgreens store. After working more than 15 years in mid-level management, McCants quit her job in 2004 to spend more time with her great-grandchildren. But once those kids got older, the Phoenix resident returned to the workforce.

The souring economy wasn't the only reason she went back - part of her just needed something else to do with her time - but it was a key factor.

"I was on a widow's pension," McCants said, "and I needed a job that'd give me full insurance benefits."

One of the major challenges facing retirees returning to the workforce, especially those entering a new field, is the difficulty of learning new technology. In past years, technology might have formed a major barrier to older workers forced to compete with younger candidates for the same positions.

But as Mitchell put it, "the technological expertise of older people has skyrocketed in recent years. As a matter of fact, what we're finding is that for most jobs, the application process is online - workers have to know the Internet and computers just to apply. The idea of a younger worker being more adept technologically is giving way fast."

McCants is proof of this movement.

Within her first year at Walgreens, she not only mastered the computer system but also learned to operate the photo department equipment and earned her pharmacy technician trainee's license. She shows just a hint of a grin as she admits that the Goodyear store receives a number of applicants for these specialized positions - most of them much younger than her - but only a fraction complete the training.

Former retirees are going to have to become comfortable with an increasingly tech-oriented workplace if they expect to compete in a cutthroat labor market. But, as recruiters for employment agencies suggest, as more older workers become as tech-savvy as McCants, perhaps it's the younger generations that ought to be worried.

Goodyear Walgreens employee Beverly McCants returned to work 2 years ago after taking time off to care for her great-grandchildren.