By Laura Hipshire
THE ERICKSON TRIBUNE

Kathy Gluck officially retired from the state of Michigan as a clinical social worker in 2002 and has been working ever since.

Since leaving that job, Gluck has worked as an outpatient therapist for Wayne County Social Services and now works as a psychiatric social worker at St. Mary’s Mercy Hospital in Livonia. “When I see [people], they’re in crisis,” Gluck says.

“Some are relieved, and others don’t think they need to be there. I enjoy helping people and using the skills I have,” she says.

Nontraditional notion of retirement
Gluck began her career as an elementary school teacher then transitioned to social work when she received her master’s degree from Michigan State University in 1979.

“I love social work,” Gluck says. Her first foray into the field began when she worked at Northville Psychiatric Hospital with mentally ill and chemically dependent patients.

Despite the fact that she’s surpassed the “official” age of retirement eligibility, 62, Gluck continues to work.  According to a study by the U.S. Department of Labor, workers ages 65–74 have increased in the workforce by 3.2% since 1984 and are projected to make up 29.6% of the workforce by 2014.

Formerly of Dearborn, Gluck has often gone against the more traditional notion of retirement—she moved to Fox Run, a retirement community in Novi, the very day she became eligible to do so—on her 62nd birthday. “I wanted to move here while I could still enjoy life,” she says.

Good health inspires longer careers
“Health is a big factor,” says Ryan Helwig, an economist with the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. “The older population today is healthier, living longer, better educated, and therefore more suited to continue  working than their counterparts in the past.” Many employers are eager to hire older workers due to their dependability, experience, and work ethic.