Boomers look to 'encore' careers
— -- Larry Hara, 56, an engineer at Intel in Cupertino, Calif., isn't ready to retire, but he wants a break from his high-pressure job. Like many Boomers, he wants to use his talents to make a difference — in his case, in health care and education.
Under a program Intel announces today, Hara will get a chance to take that step without walking off a cliff. In conjunction with Civic Ventures, a think tank that focuses on "encore careers" for Baby Boomers, Intel will match interested workers with non-profit organizations, where they'll work for six months to a year. Intel retirees admitted to the Encore Fellowship program will get a $25,000 stipend and health insurance coverage.
Intel is the first company to offer this type of benefit on such a broad scale, says Marc Freedman, founder of Civic Ventures.
Demand for this type of program is strong among aging Boomers. Nine percent of workers age 44 to 70 are in non-profit jobs that serve a public purpose, and 31% more are interested in "encore careers," according to research by Civic Ventures and the MetLife Foundation.
Until recently, older workers who wanted a more meaningful second career had few options, Freedman says. Some have resorted to internships designed for young people. He recalls interviewing one Boomer who was so impressed by her daughter's experience with Teach for America that she applied for a position herself. She got in, and had to share a dorm room with three 22-year-olds. The Encore Fellows program offers "a better front door" for older altruists, Freedman says.
Intel notified retirement-eligible employees two weeks ago about the program, and dozens have expressed an interest, says Richard Taylor, Intel's vice president for human resources. He says the company isn't using the program to thin its ranks of older workers. "It's part of our basic philosophy of allowing workers to retire with dignity," he says. "It's not a way to encourage people to walk out the door."
The Encore Fellowship program is one of several creative ways companies are dealing with an aging workforce, says John Bremen, managing director for Towers Watson, a human resources consulting firm.
The Encore program, and others like it, helps employers keep good relationships with highly skilled retirees, Bremen says. "Many companies bring retirees back to solve specific technical issues, especially a tech company like Intel," he says.
In addition, the program reinforces Intel's image as a good corporate citizen, Bremen says. "They're doing something to help society, and Intel's brand is all about making positive contributions."
Ken Wolff, 58, a systems engineer for Intel, says he's been considering retirement for several years, in part because health issues have made it difficult for him to work a regular workweek. He's exploring the idea of working for a non-profit group that provides hands-on music education to children in kindergarten through the fourth grade.
Wolff says he had already talked to several non-profit groups when he learned about the Encore program. "Monetarily, they make it easy, especially for the first year," he says.
While non-profits have favored — and attracted —younger applicants, that's changing, Freedman says. "There's been a widespread effort in the non-profit sector to be better managed," he says. "Do I want to hire someone fresh out of an MBA program or somebody who was trained in marketing for 25 years at Intel, on their dime?"
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