A 90-year-old working as a cook at a convenience store. A 93-year-old applying for jobs. An 81-year-old who had to leave her Home Depot job early because she struggled to breathe. These are among the most impactful stories of Business Insider’s 80 over 80 series.
Business Insider spent most of 2025 interviewing Americans in their 80s and beyond who are still working. We followed hundreds of older workers across the country as they navigated rising costs, health challenges, perceived ageism, and changing ideas about what work and retirement are supposed to look like.
Readers responded strongly to these stories, and we received hundreds of notes from people of all ages sharing their perspectives on the issues the series explored. Many shared their own experiences with working late into their careers, highlighting the value of work and the challenges of clocking in each day. Others who were much younger shared that the stories gave them a new perspective on aging and preparing for retirement.
Here are five of the stories that resonated the most — ones readers spent the most time with and shared widely. Together, they offer a revealing look at what readers were most eager to learn about when it comes to working late in life.
81 and working to survive
Lydia Hinds, now 82, wrote to me back in 2024 about how she worked part-time at Home Depot after a series of mistakes and unfortunate events. Her business closed at the start of the pandemic, and much of her and her husband’s money never came back after the 2008 recession. She also said she had heart failure, which made her job much more challenging. Lydia’s daughter doesn’t speak with her, and they had no other people to rely on financially.
Over the course of a few months, I got to know Lydia and her husband, Bill, before making the three-hour trip to central Connecticut, where I spent two days with them. I shadowed Lydia at work and spoke with her coworkers, ate dinner with them at their home, and drove with Bill to a doctor’s appointment. I was joined by a photographer, who captured them in their moments of vulnerability, joy, and uncertainty.
The story resonated far and wide. Leading experts in the aging and retirement space reached out to share their praise, calling the story “magnificent” and “heartbreaking.” Dozens of workers in similar situations shared their stories candidly. Younger readers wrote to me that they hoped to never be in her situation.
Since the article came out, Lydia stopped working for Home Depot as her condition worsened and has invested most of her time in founding an online business selling funny gift cards, bags, and clothes.
She’s 93 and still job searching. Why older Americans work, even if they’re sick.
I first connected with Patricia Willson, now 94, in August. Over multiple phone calls, we spoke for hours about her life in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, a small tourist town in the Ozark Mountains. I visited her for two days in September with a photographer so I could see how she lived, what applying to jobs looked like at 93, and how work and severe health challenges intermingled.
Poignant scenes from that trip — her having her leg wrapped by her nurse, sitting at her computer editing her cover letter, and showing me her mother’s bible — illustrated Willson’s fight to stay as healthy as she could while trying to find another income source.
The article resonated with readers who were themselves struggling with health issues while traversing the difficult job market. Willson’s story, along with a half dozen others featured in the article, sparked discussions online about what went wrong such that people in their 80s and 90s have to work while battling cancer, lymphedema, back issues, or heart failure. This story was particularly popular among readers in their 50s and 60s, some of whom feared they would face similar challenges.
What work looks like in your 80s for half a million Americans
This popular story was our main foray into data analysis for the series. For the first time in the media, we broke down the demographics of America’s oldest workers, along with the industries and occupations they work in. The results were somewhat surprising — working at schools was the most common industry, though construction was second. Thousands of workers were truck drivers, retail salespeople, personal care aides, and farmers.
This oldest workforce, which continues to grow, is very diverse, and many readers were shocked by the number of workers still going into their 80s and 90s. Some readers remarked that the data suggested older workers were much more valuable in certain industries than they may have imagined. Many also remarked that it will be less rare in a few years to see people working at 85.
I’m 81 and live in my RV for half the year. I didn’t save enough for retirement, so I stay afloat by ‘work camping’ and DoorDash driving.
This was the most popular story of the series, written as a personal essay as told to a reporter. Richard Smith, 81, had reached out to share his story about “work camping,” which is when people take on work while living in RVs or campers. In Smith’s case, he found work at a campsite in New Hampshire for half the year; the other half of the year, he lives in Florida. He supplements his income by driving for DoorDash.
Smith was able to follow his passions while needing to work for financial reasons. The lifestyle in many ways is cheaper than the daily costs of living in a house, but in some ways, it was a forced decision, as he didn’t save enough for retirement.
Many readers were surprised that at 81, Smith was working seven days a week and living out of his motor coach. Some readers applauded his creativity and his nontraditional living situation, with some writing that they would consider work camping for themselves. Others said his story put them at ease, as he was able to make life work with limited assets. A few readers commented that they viewed his optimism as inspiring, as he had many options if his health or finances went further south.
I’m 90 and work at a convenience store. I make $14.90 an hour and money is tight, but I hope to retire.
This story on Vince Scidone, now 91, blew up in the days after it was posted in early September. Scidone, a former carpenter, works part-time for a convenience store chain in Oklahoma, earning $14.90 an hour as a cook. He is on his feet for much of the day in the job, which was one of the only ones he could find when he started looking last year after months of rejections.
What readers grasped onto about Scidone’s story was how, at 89, he began applying for jobs after his wife got sick. Since she could no longer work, Scidone said the extra income was necessary for helping them stay afloat after a recent home purchase. His health hasn’t interfered too much with his job.
Readers found it compelling that Scidone was so positive about his situation, even though he wishes he could retire and never have to worry about money. Some were heartbroken by how he felt guilty for not having a lot of money to pass down to their children and grandchildren. As with many readers, Scidone spoke about his situation while in a state of limbo, where he plays every day by ear. His uncertainty, and his grit, stayed with readers, as some attested to in emails.
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