MARYLAND — Working past retirement age has never been the American dream, but the number of Marylanders over 65 who still earn a living through their jobs is higher than in most other states, according to a new study.
Population growth, changes to Social Security and rising living costs are forcing many Americans to postpone retirement – especially in Maryland, according to financial website LendingTree.
The researchers analyzed data from the U.S. Census Bureau between March 2022 and April 2024, looking for the states with the highest share of people age 65 and older who are still employed. The full study and its methodology can be found here..
Maryland came in seventh on the list, the researchers found. According to the study, a whopping 31.2 percent of the state’s retirement-age residents are still working.
Maryland also saw the seventh-largest increase in older adults still working. In March 2022, about 25.4 percent of Maryland residents age 65 and older were employed, and in March 2024, that number increased by 22.8 percent.
The ten states with the highest proportion of older people in the workforce are:
- New Jersey: 33.8%
- Delaware: 27.2%
- Indiana: 23.0%
- Montana: 24.2%
- Connecticut: 30.3%
- Nevada: 25.7%
- Maryland: 31.2%
- Arkansas: 24.8%
- North Dakota: 32.3%
- Louisiana: 22.5%
Nationwide, 22 percent of U.S. citizens over the age of 65 are still employed. One in four (24.2 percent) is self-employed, about half (50.5 percent) are employed by private companies and 10.3 percent are employed by the government, the study says.
The share of U.S. adults who reported being retired fell from 16.8 percent in March 2022 to 16.2 percent in March 2024. Overall, the share of retirees fell in 30 states, led by New Jersey (23 percent), North Dakota (22.9 percent) and Connecticut (19.9 percent).
In addition to demographic changes, the increase in the number of workers of retirement age in states such as New Jersey also has financial reasons, the researchers suspect.
“These increases could be a troubling sign that more and more older Americans need additional income in their so-called golden years,” said Matt Schulz, chief credit analyst at LendingTree.
“Inflation could severely affect these people’s assumptions about how they will live in retirement,” Schulz added.
Other factors – such as better health care, higher levels of education and a flexible work environment – have also contributed to older Americans continuing to work, the researchers say.
