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You’ve put in decades of work and thought you were ready to spend more time traveling, enjoying your partner, hanging out by the sea or in the country — or volunteering when you want to.

But going back to the grind? Many retirees are moving that way, even in a tough job market. A New York Times report says financial need is the main motivator to get “fired from retirement,” particularly as costs like gas are up 50 percent in recent months, and amid jumps in supermarket staples like beef and coffee. Plus, many older Americans fear inflation will eat into their savings.

Are these uncertainties keeping the 37 percent of the labor force over 55 in jobs longer than they would like? Or has there been a jump in older returnees? Or both?

Boston College economist Geoffrey Sanzenbacher, who tracks “unretirement” as a fellow at the Center for Retirement Research, has a few insights.

One is that unretirees are “disproportionately Black, Hispanic, and especially living in multigenerational families where cash needs are higher.” A second sign, however, involves early indications that older New Englanders are going back to work at a slightly higher percentage than the US overall, although its not clear if they “need” or just “want” to.

David Beard: Some retirees find out that retirement isn’t for them and return to work for a bit — what’s different now?

Geoffrey Sanzenbacher: I would say that while unretirement rates today are elevated relative to immediately post-COVID, they remain roughly in line with the rates since 2022. What’s surprising is that this rate of unretirement is happening at a time when the rate of job openings has dropped to post-COVID lows. So, people are unretiring at a typical rate but at a time when its harder to find jobs. Certainly, this could suggest some element of need, since those unretiring are likely doing more work to find employment.

David: Do the returnees cite as reasons things like the rise in prices for gas, foodstuffs, healthcare contributions?

Geoff: An ARRP survey found that the majority of people cited financial pressures as a main reason that they returned to work, although the sample was somewhat small. I think in anecdotal evidence I have seen, the cost of healthcare and the need to help family comes up a lot.

Is New England an outlier in any part of this national trend?

If you look since 2024, there is very limited evidence (read non-statistically significant) that New Englanders ages 55-64 (in prime unretirement age) are unretiring at higher rates than non-New Englanders (8.3 versus 5.9 percent). If you look at the overall rate for those 55+, you actually see significantly higher rates in New England as well (3.0 versus 2.2 percent). Not huge differences, but something.

New Englanders who unretire are more educated and whiter than folks in the rest of the country, but this likely reflects demographics.

Many older Americans fear inflation will eat into their savings.Nam Y. Huh/Associated Press

🧩 3 Down: Seizes | ☀️ 74° Slightly cooler

NIMBY this! Massachusetts towns are fighting back against attempts to build new water- and energy-sucking AI and data centers in their communities.

Wellesley killings: Kai and his little sister Ella played in a world decorated with hearts and rainbows, their heartbroken father said at a service for the slain youngsters.

Same demo: They’re both Marines, 40-somethings, and waging generational fights. So why aren’t Seth Moulton and Graham Platner allies? Is it more than tattoo choices? Plus, this Congressman has been AWOL since early March. Where is he?

Iran war: A drone struck the edge of a nuclear plant in the United Arab Emirates.

Prayer: A Trump-backed prayer festival on National Mall drew thousands. Critics say the event sought to erase America’s constitutional line between church and state. (WashPost)

Judge vs. Trump: A former federal immigration judge in Massachusetts has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, arguing that he was unlawfully fired last year.

Bruce Springsteen: Ahead of the Boss’s weekend concert in town, Globe photographer Stan Grossfeld recalls the day the Boss sent HIM a fan letter. And then another one.

The Trumpsonian: A new New York city destination, the Donald J. Trump and Jeffrey Epstein Memorial Reading Room, features the entire Epstein files released so far.

Kars4Kids: California is barring ads by a donate-your-car charity purportedly for kids that funds adult matchmaking services and trips abroad. A judge ruled the charity violated laws against false advertising and unfair competition — and found few instances of it using the donations to help kids in California.

Wanda Sykes in Hampton, Virginia during the filming of “Legacy.”CLIFTON PRESCOD/NETFLIX

📺 This week’s TV: A Wanda Sykes comedy special, Tatiana Maslany in “Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed,” and more.

🎯 ‘Competitive socializing’: With darts, F1, mini golf, and mezcal, is the Seaport getting to be too much fun? Want to go farther afield? Here are 11 great Boston-area beer gardens to try (but not all at once).

🦞 Who says Maine is expensive? Why take a $100 day-trip on a boat when you can pay $14? It’s possible to do America’s Vacationland on the cheap.

🏠 Home of the Week: Peek inside this two-bedroom condo minutes from Roslindale Square for $575,000.

🅿️ Everybody makes mistakes: The town of Hull will be sending out new parking permits after the printer misspelled a key word.

↖️ Cartoon: How the “Lost Transcendentalist” made her way back to Concord.

🎶 Eurovision winner: No, Europe’s best song this year wasn’t from Iceland, Ireland, Israel, or Italy. Yes, the winning nation was ruled for 33 years by a dictator named Todor Zhivkov. Which country? Here’s the answer — and the song.

Thanks for reading Starting Point.

This newsletter was edited by Heather Ciras and produced by Ryan Orlecki. Today’s soundtrack is “Jaja Ding Dong,” by Will Farrell and Molly Sandén, from “Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga.”

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Dave Beard can be reached at dave.beard@gmail.com. Follow him on X @dabeard.