• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer, March 14, 2011

According to a new study from Scarborough, the 6.2 million American adults over the age of 65 who are employed fulltime or parttime are financially sound, philanthropic, enjoy the arts. and have robust investment portfolios. These "Retired for Hire" consumers are slightly more likely than the average adult to have an annual household income of $150K+ and are 51% more likely to live in a home valued at $500K or more. Trending upward in technology adoption, the Retired for Hire tune into local news and have a passion for keeping up their homes.

The Retired for Hire consumer group also has a wide range of investments and uses a potpourri of financial services. They are more likely than the average American to have: 

·      Stocks or stock options as a household investment (23% more likely) 

·      Second home or real estate property (36% more likely) 

·      Mutual funds (27% more likely) 

·      Money market funds (46% more likely)

Retired for Hire exceeds the national average when it comes to utilizing financial services such as accountants, financial planners, and fullservice stockbrokers in their household.

Howard Goldberg, senior vice president, Scarborough notes that "...banking and financial advertisers have a niche, but powerful market opportunity in Retired for Hire..." 

In addition to the banking and financial industry, office supplies providers and home improvement stores have a robust base in Retired for Hire. Retired for Hire are small business owners, self-employed or work mostly from home. Perhaps because of this status, they are more likely to be the decision makers for a wide variety of company needs, from business travel to overnight delivery services.

This group is frequently making purchasing decisions for their companies. Retired for Hire are 32% more likely to make information technology corporate decisions:

·      38% more likely to make hardware/software choices, and they also select vendors for overnight delivery services, business travel and office equipment

·      22% of this consumer group shopped Walmart for office supplies during the past three months, making it the leading office supply store for this consumer group

·      19% are more likely than average to shop Office Depot

·      18% are more likely to shop Staples

Local news broadcasts are popular among Retired for Hire. They are more likely than the average adult to watch morning or evening local news, and also enjoy national or network news. Religious broadcasting and game shows are also popular among Retired for Hire.

Their interest in news is reflected in their radio listening habits as well. Retired for Hire consumers are more likely to listen to the All News and News/Talk/Info radio formats. On the entertainment side, they also enjoy Adult Standards, Classical and Classic Country.

Retired for Hire are avid newspaper readers. They are 54% more likely to read the daily newspaper. Additionally, they are more likely to read every section of the newspaper measured by Scarborough.

The study offers additional detail in the PDF report "Retired for Hire" available here