“I’m working because I have to. I don’t want to.” “I’m basically working seven days a week.” “I don’t want to fall into sedentary mode.” “I’m still full of energy. I’m still very much on my game.”
These are some of the stories we heard in interviews with nearly 200 Americans who continue to work past the age of 80. In 2025, Business Insider wrote more than 20 stories and produced a short documentary video — all examining why people over 80 continue to work well beyond the typical retirement age.
Older workers are the fastest-growing sector of the US labor force. Our “80 over 80” project examines the how and why.
Check it out below:
Credits
Reporter:
Noah Sheidlower
Features editors:
Bartie Scott, Andy Kiersz, Hayley Peterson Herrin, Brad Davis
As-told-to editors:
Lauryn Haas, Jane Zhang, Tess Martinelli, Manseen Logan, Debbie Strong
Copy editor:
Tracy Connor
Design & development:
Eason Xinran Wang, Randy Yeip, Bryan Erickson
Photo editors:
Jorge Castillo, Isabel Fernandez-Pujol, Rebecca Zisser
Photographers:
Cassidy Araiza, Corrie Aune, Bridget Bennet, Jesse Brantman, Michael J. Fiedler, Brittany Green, Tim Gruber, Jason Henry, Brooke Herbert, Clark Hodgin, Shuran Huang, Nilo Jimenez, Melyssa St. Michael, Mark Petty, Valerie Plesch, Alyssa Schukar, Katie Shaw, Nate Smallwood, Laura Thompson, Katrina Ward, Matt Martian Williams, Cornell Watson, Annie Flanagan
Audience:
Corina Pintado, Victoria Gracie, Hannah Kennedy
Video producer:
Sarah Andersen
Videographers:
Timothy Wolfer, Juan-Antonio Puyol
Video editor:
Esteban Aburto
Motion designer:
Dorian Barranco
Video copy editors:
Mark Abadi, Caitlin Charles
Supervising producer:
Mark Adam Miller
Head of video:
Barbara Corbellini Duarte
Quicksplainer video:
Rachel Cohn, Jacky Zarra
.credits-box {
border: 1px solid #d3d3d3; /* light gray */
padding: 20px;
border-radius: 8px; /* rounded corners */
max-width: 800px; /* optional: constrains width */
margin: 0 auto; /* centers the box */
background: #fff; /* clean white background */
}
.gi-credits {
font-size: 1rem;
}
.credits-header {
text-align: center;
margin-bottom: 1rem;
}
Read the original article on Business Insider
The post Read Business Insider’s stories and watch our video after nearly 200 interviews with workers over 80 appeared first on Business Insider.
