A video report: Boomers buck retirement trend by starting small business in record numbers

March 2006 (Medialink) -- The phrase ‘retirement careers’ sounds like an oxymoron, but the truth is, a lot of folks 50 and older who call themselves 'retired' are anything but. As the first of the Boomers celebrate their 60th birthday this year, the reasons to continue working can vary from financial necessity, to no retirement plan to even simply needing a purpose or identity.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that:

  Professionals older than 55 are the fastest-growing segment of the workforce;

  By 2012, those workers will constitute 19 percent of the labor force, up from 14 percent in 2002 and the rates of self-employment rise with age.

Some older workers have made the transition to self-employment later in their careers, often as part of the transition to retirement and many are choosing working from home to be the best option. AARP recently found those age 50 and above account for 40-percent of the self-employed in past years.