Still Working After Age 100

Many baby boomers are going to need to work during the traditional retirement years because they haven’t saved enough. But some seniors work long after their colleagues have exited the workforce simply because they enjoy going to the office each day.

Jack Borden, 101, an attorney in Weatherford, Texas, works about 40 hours each week on real estate and probate cases. The former FBI agent and district attorney was named America’s Outstanding Oldest Worker last week by Experience Works, a nonprofit organization that helps older workers find jobs. Borden, who has worked since age 5, doesn’t plan to retire. “If I were to quit work now I don’t think I would live over 6 months, maybe a year, because I would have nothing to do,” he said after winning the award. “If it comes to the point where I have to come down here [to the office] in a wheelchair I will be coming down here.” Also a former Mayor of Weatherford, Borden says working keeps his mind fresh and he enjoys talking to people: “There are so many people who can’t afford to pay an attorney and I can help them.”

Borden is one of about 122,000 Americans who continued to work after age 85 in 2008, according to the Census Bureau. I interviewed Borden last year for a column about people who continue to work after age 90. He told me: “The more experiences you have, the better you are at any job. You are just now getting to the age when you are really worth your money." Listen to Borden talk about his decision to never retire below.

For more information:

• 100 Years Old and Still Going to Work Every Day
• A Quarter of Americans Still Work After Age 65
• Almost Half of Workers Retire Earlier Than Planned