Reuters Money

Bob Hostetler begins most weekdays at 4 a.m. on his home computer before heading to the office at 8 a.m. As a managing partner at an executive services firm in the Washington, DC area, he puts in a full day of work before heading home for the evening, where he often logs in a few more hours of networking.

What sounds like a grueling day in the budding career of a 30-something is actually a typical workday for 59-year old Hostleter – and retirement is nowhere on the horizon.

Hostetler is among a growing group of Americans redefining the “new normal” of the labor force: working retirement. A new report from the Sloan Center on Aging and Work at Boston College and Families and Work Institute found that 75 percent of workers aged 50 and older expect to have retirement jobs in the future. And unlike thousands of Americans worried about having a big enough nest egg to retire, not all of them are doing it to fill an income gap.

“These people aren’t slackers,” says Ellen Galinsky, president and co-founder of Families and Work Institute. “They’re working for multiple reasons: they want to have fun, they don’t want to be bored, they want to contribute.”

Hostetler represents a happy group of 50-somethings who are finding renewed satisfaction in careers that are challenging and offer an opportunity to work on their own terms after years in the workforce.

Among the study’s findings:

• 31 percent of those 50 and older say they would be bored not working.
• 75 percent of workers 50 and older say they’re interested in phased retirement, though few workplaces offer it.
• 18 percent are working to contribute and be productive.
• 15 percent have a job that is fun and enjoyable.

For Hostetler, retirement simply hasn’t occurred to him.  His 12-hour days have been the norm for years, and he has no intention of trading in the office for the golf course.

“The thought of not having meaningful work to do, the thought of not working with clients is a difficult idea to consider,” he says.

Granted, generating income is still the main reason would-be retirees are opting to stay in the workforce, a fact that may gnaw on the nerves of younger workers trying to claw their way into careers during the one of worst labor markets in years.

Both Galinsky and Hostetler acknowledge that the next generation of workers may resent their older peers for holding on to jobs that could be their own, but they maintain that a combination of new and older workers is ideal. Says Galinsky: “We need them both. There’s a sense that older people bring a huge amount of knowledge and experience to the workforce.”

In fact, 24 percent of “retired workers” are business owners, thereby in the position to hire.

“The reality is, those who are continuing to work are generate that jobs that are hopefully going to lead to the recovery down the road,” says Hostetler.

So when will retirement be on Hostetler’s agenda?

“I’ll tell you what lengendary basketball coach Dean Smith said: ‘I’ll retire when I’m not excited about the next season.’ ” He laughs.  “I’m still excited.”

Photo: Bob Hostetler (left) pictured with his family in this undated handout photo. REUTERS/Handout