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..."
Household Financial Profile Index | |
Asset | Index (vs. Other Adults) |
Home value $500K+ | 151 |
Home value $350K+ | 135 |
HH income $150K+ | 107 |
Source: Scarborough Research, March 2011 (e.g. Retired for Hire are 51% more likely than other adults to have a home valued at $500K+) |
Index of Financial Services Used by RFH Household | |
Service | Index |
Full service stock broker | 195 |
Accountant | 150 |
CDs | 148 |
Financial planner | 142 |
Money market account | 133 |
IRA | 126 |
Source: Scarborough Research, March 2011 |
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.
Index of RFH Business Status | |
Business Activity | Index (vs. Average American) |
Small business owner | 243 |
Self employed | 240 |
Work at Home | 181 |
Source: Scarborough Research, March 2011 |
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.
Index of Television Genres Watched by the RFH Consumers | |
TV Genre | Watching Index (vs. Average American) |
Religious | 139 |
Local evening news | 128 |
National network news | 126 |
Game shows | 124 |
Local morning news | 110 |
Sports | 106 |
Source: Scarborough Research, March 2011 |
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.
Index of Radio Formats Listened to by RFH Consumers | |
Radio Format | Index |
Adult standards | 303 |
Classical | 237 |
Classic country | 203 |
All news | 182 |
News/talk/info | 173 |
Talk/personality | 151 |
Religious | 141 |
Source: Scarborough Research, March 2011 |
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.
Top 5 Newspaper Sections Read by RFH Adults | |
Newspaper Section | % of RTH Reading |
Main news/front page | 77% |
Local news | 73 |
InternationalNational news | 56 |
Editorial/opinion | 55 |
Sports | 54 |
Source: Scarborough Research, March 2011 |
The study offers additional detail in the PDF report "Retired for Hire" available here
I question the term "Retired for Hire." Who's retired here? It looks like the numbers are describing business owners and executives who have never bothered to retire.
Retired for Hire --- This is a nonsense rhyme, not Truth. By your own description 1.) they WORK part time or full time; 2.) they run small businesses and WORK at home; and 3.) they are actively seeking and available for WORK. They are not retired. The wordplay is a contradiction of the facts you presented. Maybe these 65-ers are no longer on the payroll of former longtime employers, but "retired" is a misnomer. The term "retired for hire" describes some pensioners I encountered when I lived in Central Florida --- they were bagging groceries in Publix to supplement Social Security. The folks you describe apparently live comfortably, but they may have to WORK to bolster their assets and maintain their lifestyle without resorting to Publix checkout line.
I have many retired people attend our conferences. They are retired, but they mystery shop or do merchandising to supplement their incomes. Some of them only perform mystery shops that are reimbursement only jobs so they can have luxuries such as nice dinners, visit theme parks, movies, etc., knowing the money will be reimbursed. Since it is reimbursement only, it does not change their tax status. Maybe some of these small business owners were a part of this study.
A retired doctor and his retired receptionist do not have the same benefits after retirement.