Hospitals and other employers struggling with labor shortages are also known to court older employees by offering flexible schedules and extra leeway for time off.
Still, such companies "quite frankly are ahead of the curve," said Deborah R. Russell, director of workforce issues at AARP.
After interviewing 400 employers, researchers at Boston College recently concluded that many companies were only "lukewarm" about accommodating older workers who might be willing to stay on the job a few extra years.
Which doesn't make a lot of sense to Feyk.
"Somehow we're going to have to get people over 65 into productive work, because there aren't going to be enough of the young people to support them," he said.
He is not the only member of his family who feels that way. Feyk's wife, he noted, recently got a job as a church organist in San Pedro. "She's getting her W-2 right now," he said, adding: "She's just a young thing. She's only 75."
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jonathan.peterson@latimes.com
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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)
Staying on the payroll
The trend: Americans are now typically retiring at age 62, compared with age 60 in 1997, reversing decades of decline in the retirement age.
What's behind it: As employers scale back pensions and health benefits for retirees, many people cannot afford to retire. Others simply choose to work, saying they would be bored otherwise.
The consequences: By staying in the workforce, older employees generate more spendable income -- buoying the economy and contributing additional income taxes. Social Security could also be helped as workers pay into the system for additional years.
Los Angeles Times
