For some retirees, leaving work doesn't come easy
At 82, Lazzette Ohman still works part time cataloging photos for the U.S. Forest Service. She started there in 1980 at an age when many people retire.
"I never gave it a thought of how long I would work," Ohman said. "I was just doing something I enjoyed."
Other seniors work for the Forest Service as interpreters at the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center and aboard the Alaska Marine Highway. About 12 percent of Juneau seniors still worked full or part time in 1998, according to a survey done then.
"What surprises me is the amount of energy they bring to that," said Neil Hagadorn, a Forest Service assistant director. "It's kind of surprising to see the college kids keeping up with them."
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Ohman said working mornings keeps her busy and connected to the world.
"If I was home I'd be sewing all the time, and that's not getting me out and meeting people," said Ohman, who learned to use a Macintosh as the photo archives were computerized.
The Forest Service will need a computer to replace Ohman, who has the old filing system of more than 10,000 slides and three cabinets of photos memorized.
Ohman enjoys working with the photos, which go back to the 1920s, because they bring back memories.
"She's a real valuable resource to us, partly because she has lived a great part of the history she's managing," Hagadorn said. "She's not only working with history. She's a living part of that history."
The Forest Service will need even more older employees in the next five years, as nearly 40 percent of its staff reaches retirement age, Hagadorn said.
But few retirement-age employees want to continue working with the intensity of their youth. Even if they did want to work long shifts, their bodies won't always keep up. The number of days an employee is away from work usually increases with age, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Among workers of all ages, the median number of sick days is five a year. For workers 55 and older it's 10.
Arthritis has slowed Ohman down and she's trying to reduce her hours to 12 a week, to take it easy in her old age. Soon she hopes to quit work for good.
"I'm trying to retire now," Ohman said. "This next time will be five (tries) and I hope it's the last."