This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Mike Plummer, an 81-year-old REI employee in Jacksonville, Florida. Business Insider has verified Plummer’s current employment. He has worked at REI for 13 years. Plummer does not work out of financial necessity, but doesn’t have any plans to retire soon. The following has been edited for length and clarity.
I look back and sometimes think maybe I shouldn’t have left corporate so soon, but I took a buyout, left at 55, and I don’t regret it.
I just turned 81, and in two years, I’ll hit my 15-year mark with REI, a national retail chain that sells outdoor gear and apparel. This is a motivator. My wife is 74 and still works part-time, too. We’re financially in a position where we don’t need to keep working, but we have no real plans to retire fully.
We both get asked a lot, “Why are you still working? You don’t need the money.” But in your 70s and 80s, friends are dying or have medical issues, and you lose that social connection. I work because I have to keep moving, building connections, and engaging with new things.
Business Insider’s “80 over 80” series draws on interviews with the growing group of Americans working past their 80th birthdays. They discussed their careers, retirement planning, living expenses, healthcare, and life lessons. If you are 80 and older and still work, fill out this form to contribute to the series and read more here:
I’ve been working almost all of my life
When I was about 8, I started helping out at my dad’s convenience store, where we lived in the back. Then, in high school, I worked at a grocery store in the meat market with the butcher, cutting chicken heads. Since I had to pay for college myself, I went as a co-op student and studied engineering.
Jesse Brantman for BI
At my first job, the company would pay for graduate school if I could get in. I got two master’s degrees from New York University, the first in engineering in 1969. But after two years in mechanical engineering, I didn’t think that was going to be my area, so I got my second master’s in operational research in 1971.
I worked in various analytic and management-type roles, and then, in the 1980s, I worked for a couple of years at a startup company. It was a fun time, and it got me interested in the organizational side of business. Starting in 1990, I went to work for a credit card company.
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In 1996, I did the same type of program at the credit card company and got a third master’s, this time in organizational development and change from Pepperdine University. I retired as the assistant vice president of training and development in 1999 and left to start working with my wife at her HR consulting company.
My mom inspired me to keep working
After my dad died, my mom was really bored, so she got a job at McDonald’s for about five years in her late 70s.
Besides working with my wife in her consulting business, I also taught a graduate course in organizational development at Webster University from 2005 to 2020. Before REI, I fiddled around with other part-time jobs. I worked for a couple of years at a cruise terminal as a check-in agent because I liked the idea of it, and I was a golf ranger for a year or two.
Jesse Brantman for BI
REI gives employee discounts, and I was motivated at first because I love biking. I started out working on the floor in other departments, but I always wanted to move toward the biking area. I’m now in the action sports department, which includes kayaking, hiking, and biking.
I like interacting with people and stocking and organizing my section. Last year, I won REI’s highest employee honor, the Anderson Award. I worked about 24 hours a week until I cut my hours back two years ago. Now, I only work two days a week, usually from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
It helps me stay active and engaged, have a purpose, and connect with friends. I look forward to working at REI with young people and a very diverse group.
When I started, I was the only person over 65 at my store, but now there are about 4 or 5 of us older employees
We call ourselves the Silverbacks. One of the guys is into social connections, and he’s really good at helping young people and mentoring them. One woman is a retired Navy captain who works in the bike shop.
In 2019, I decided to design a survey for my store about joy levels at work on my own. The older people were happier in their jobs and in their lives, and less interested in getting promotions. They had found something that they liked and were good at.
Jesse Brantman for BI
Three years ago, my store manager told me about this author who wrote a book about the secrets of aging well. She encouraged me to see if he could do a talk at our store. Six months later, I got him to do a workshop at four stores in Florida, including ours.
We don’t need my paycheck to keep up with our lifestyle, but I don’t have any plans to retire soon
When I started with REI, I set up a separate account to deposit my earnings. I now make $18 an hour, but when I started, it was only $9 or $10. I made around $7,700 last year, and REI automatically enrolls you in the 401(k) program, which it matches.
I’ll use my paycheck to buy fun stuff from REI or anywhere else. My wife and I both receive pensions from our former employers and Social Security, and take a 4% annual withdrawal from our 30-year 401 (k)s. We expect to continue receiving $40,000 a year from my wife’s HR consulting business until she retires.
Jesse Brantman for BI
My son and I like going to watch horror movies together, and I use my check to pay for those tickets. Now that I’m not making that much since I cut my hours, I’m a little more careful with what I spend.
I’m trying to stick it out for at least two more years to hit the 15-year mark, and maybe more, before I leave REI. My doctor says I’m healthy, but I’m at an age where I could have a major health problem at any time. I enjoy working there, but I’m trying to focus on living the best life I can.
