D.C. in Top 10 for Aging Workers -- Here's Why

If you live in the Washington, D.C. area and have no plans to stop working even at retirement age, you’ve chosen one of the best cities in the country. U.S. News and World Report recently ranked D.C. as one of the 10 best places in the United States to get a retirement job -- and it’s not hard to see why.

With an ever-growing federal government dominating the economic landscape of the Washington, D.C. area, the region is fast becoming one of the top places in the country for older workers.

U.S. News noted in the Feb. 16 article that the federal government was the top employer in the D.C. area, including Arlington and Alexandria, as well as parts of Maryland and West Virginia.

According to Office of Personnel Management statistics, the average age of a full-time civilian employee is 47.3 years, and employees tend to stick around for quite a while, averaging nearly 14 years of service.

The benefits are great for those who want to eventually retire. About 72 percent of full-time permanent employees are covered under Civil Service Retirement. That’s to say nothing about the pay, which averages $79,030 -- and that’s just the base salary.

So if you’re over 60 but still want to keep working, it may be best to stay put.