Necessity or love of work, many older workers plan for non-retirement

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Every weekday morning, Billie Marion walks a few blocks to the bus stop from the South Natomas, Calif., home she shares with her daughter. She commutes downtown, where she spends her days wrapping gifts in a tiny office at Grebitus & Sons jewelers across from the Capitol.

She's 88, the daughter of a Methodist minister, a small, energetic woman whose one vanity seems to be fingernails manicured a bright shade of orange. Quite simply, she loves to work.

"I love my job," said Marion. "I've always loved it. I like working with my hands.

"I know I could retire. But I like being around people. I love the people I work with. They make it so nice to come to work in the morning."

Her daughter credits Marion's work ethic with keeping her youthful and involved.

"Work is what keeps her going," said Tricia Marion, 54. "Seeing some of her friends after they retire, it seems like they got older. Mom just keeps on ticking."

Retirement isn't for everyone, and that's likely just as well: Over the past decades, the promise of pensions has largely vanished from the American economic landscape, and in tough times, retirement savings accounts have fizzled.

Research shows that large numbers of baby boomers — the oldest of whom reach the traditional retirement age of 65 next year — don't intend to follow earlier generations' footsteps into a long retirement. Some can't afford to; many others don't want to.

Besides, said AARP California's Christina Clem: "No one should tell you what your later years should be. That's up to you. Invent your own retirement."

Or un-retirement.

Marion, a professional gift wrapper for 18 years who in her spare time takes computer classes and sings in her church choir, could be a role model for younger workers — a prime example of someone thriving well past retirement age.

So could Nancy Sadler, 81, who has owned Mad Hatters costume shop in Auburn, Calif., for 27 years.

"A woman came in one day and said, 'When I'm your age, I want to be just like you,'" said Sadler, looking pleased at the idea.

She works six days a week, despite a handful of health issues that would slow down a less energetic person, and she likes to say she rarely even stops to sit. Instead, she weaves her way expertly through rooms packed with tuxedos and ball gowns and costumes whose themes range from ancient Rome to the Easter bunny.