Post 50voices post50 retirementBetty White

15 Photos Show You Can Be Awesome At Your Job, No Matter Your Age

These employees show no signs of slowing down.
By 

Guest Writer

At 94, Betty White -- seen here filming an episode of "Bones" -- shows no signs of slowing down.
At 94, Betty White -- seen here filming an episode of "Bones" -- shows no signs of slowing down.
FOX via Getty Images

Huff/Post50 has written a lot about Betty White, 94, and other celebs who think of retirement as a four-letter word.

“Why should I retire from something I love so much? Nothing that I could possibly find to do would be as much fun as what I do for a living,” White told The Huffington Post in a phone interview in 2013

But apart from Hollywood, more older Americans ― those 65 and up ― also express no desire to retire. When asked to reveal their retirement plans, 27 percent of Americans say they will “keep working as long as possible,” a 2015 Federal Reserve study found.

The reasons for this vary, but most U.S. retirees say the need to continue earning money is the main impetus for staying in the workforce. But the desire to feel relevant ― and also the enjoyment of a social life that an office environment can provide ― also are oft-cited reasons for not retiring.

For example, Bette Burke-Nash, 80, may very well be the world’s oldest flight attendant. Nash became a flight attendant ― or “stewardess” as they were called back then ― in 1957 at age 21, and has been taking to the skies ever since. To put it in perspective, Dwight Eisenhower was president when she first started working for Eastern Airlines, which is today known as American Airlines.

And she genuinely loves her work. “Being here is my social life,” Nash says.

Bette Burke-Nash is believed to be the oldest flight attendant in America.
Bette Burke-Nash is believed to be the oldest flight attendant in America.
Dina Rudick/Boston Globe via Getty Images

Even outside the United States, the number of older people still working has been steadily rising in recent years. Longer lifespans and aging populations in several countries mean folks need to keep working in order to pad their inadequate nest eggs. Between 2010 and 2050, the number of people aged 65 or older is expected to climb from 524 million people ― representing 8 percent of the world’s population ― to about 1.5 billion, representing about 16 percent of the world’s population.

The good news is that working longer appears to be good for your health. Study after study has shown that people who retire early tend to die sooner — including this recent study from Oregon State University.

To celebrate those who are working longer, we’ve gathered together photos of people 65 and older on the job around the world. Scroll through and let us know if YOU are still working after age 65. Oh, and Happy Labor Day!

Darunee Kamwong, 72, Cleaner
Jorge Silva / Reuters
Darunee Kamwong, 72, is a cleaner in a rice vermicelli factory outside Bangkok, Thailand. The number of people over 65 in Thailand -- where the population is rapidly aging -- is set to more than double between now and 2030.
Abu Abdul Razzaq, 74, Craftsman
SABAH ARAR/AFP/Getty Images
Abu Abdul Razzaq, 74, sews blankets on the streets of Baghdad, Iraq. Razzaq is one of the last people to work in a local industry that is being replaced by imports from China and other countries.
Pranom Chartyothin, 72, Bus Conductor
Jorge Silva / Reuters
Pranom Chartyothin, 72, is a bus conductor who sells and collects bus tickets in downtown Bangkok, Thailand. Such scenes featuring older people working will only become more common in Thailand as its population continues to rapidly age.
Dr. Sarah Henry, 66, Chief Nocturnalist
Dina Rudick/Boston Globe/Getty Images
Dr. Sarah Henry, 66, is the Chief Nocturnalist at Boston Children's Hospital. Here she sits in a call room in the hospital. She only works nights, and says she loves it.
Stanley W. Tapscott, 89, Cab Driver
Marvin Joseph/The Washington Post/Getty Images
Stanley W. Tapscott, 89, may be the oldest cab driver in Washington, D.C. He plans to retire soon after more than 50 years on the job.
King Liu, 82, Company Chairman
SAM YEH/AFP/Getty Images
King Liu, 82, is chairman of the world's biggest bicycle maker -- Giant Manufacturing Co. in Taiwan. He might be an unlikely poster boy for Taiwan's flourishing cycling scene, but King Liu has been a serious cyclist since he was 73.
Dr. John Callaghan, 90, Doctor
Deon Raath/Foto24/Gallo Images/Getty Images)
Dr. John Callaghan is the oldest ear, nose and throat specialist in Pretoria, South Africa. He turned 90 on Aug. 12.
Sunisa Hongaroon, 67, Accountant
Jorge Silva / Reuters
Sunisa Hongaroon, 67, is an accountant who works for a transportation company in Bangkok, Thailand. The number of people over 65 in Thailand is set to more than double between now and 2030.
Elisabeth Davis, 99, Secretary
Culver Academies
Elisabeth Davis, 99, has been working at Culver Academies in Culver, Indiana, since 1936. She is secretary in the head of schools office, maintaining more than a century's worth of documents and records for the college preparatory boarding school located on Lake Maxinkuckee. She's shown here with Head of Schools Jim Power.
Jane Goodall, 82, Primatologist
Jorge Sanz/Pacific Press/LightRocket/Getty Images
British primatologist Jane Goodall, 82, still travels the world with the objective of educating others about the ecosystem, biodiversity and sustainability. The British primatologist, ethologist, anthropologist and U.N. Messenger of Peace, is best known for her 45-year study of social and family interactions of wild chimpanzees in Gombe Stream National Park, Tanzania.
Achmad Dasuki, 94, Crop Picker
Sutrisno Jambul/Pacific Press/LightRocket/Getty Images
Achmad Dasuki, 94, picks chilies in Indonesia. The U.N. has predicted that the percentage of Indonesia's population that's over age 60 will reach 25 percent by 2050.
Xiong Quande, 66, Sanitation Worker
Wan Xiang/Xinhua News Agency/Getty Images
Xiong Quande carries newly-collected rubbish onto the banks of the Donghu Lake of Bayi Park in Nanchang, China. The 66-year-old has worked at the park as a sanitation worker for 12 years. People call him the "beautician" of Donghu Lake.
Father Jacques Clemens, 107, Priest
Francois Lenoir / Reuters
Father Jacques Clemens, 107, is believed to be the oldest living priest in the world. The Belgian recently celebrated his 80th anniversary as a Catholic priest. He said that maintaining a strict daily routine is his key to a long life.

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voices post50 retirementBetty Whitephotos of older workers around the worldaging workers around the world

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