Of the greyest professions in America - tax preparers work the longest according to Time. 14.2% work past 66! Dentists only 9.7%. Computer systems administrators only 1/2 of 1%. Very interesting but not too surprising.
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Can't Retire
Maybe that's because the profession doesn't pay enough to allow preparers to stash away retirement. So we have to work until we become skeletons in the chair.
We would do fine if we could be revenue-productive all year long. Won't happen. -
You and Time are both making an understandable but very bad mistake of interpreting the statistic. This is why there are books out there that should be required reading in high school, such as "How to Lie With Statistics".Originally posted by Gene V View Post
Saying that 14.2% of tax preparers are over age 65 indicates NOTHING about how long people work in the profession. That would require a statistic about how many years tax preparers work on average and at what age they start working as tax preparers, which is a completely different thing, and not addressed at all in the 4-paragraph Time article.
The simplest explanation is this -- younger people are not entering the tax profession at the same rate as in the past (based on repeated anecdotes at this and other discussion forums). So naturally the percentage of older workers in the total is going to go up. It doesn't mean they work longer, just that fewer are taking their place. It also reflects the fact that for many, becoming a tax preparer later in life, perhaps as a job in semi-retirement, is relatively easy to do compared to other professions.
As for computer system administrators, the same simple explanation applies - the job has not existed long enough for there to be a large percent of elderly workers. To carry it to an extreme, it would be like saying smart phone app developers retire earlier than anyone because there are probably near zero percent of app developers over age 65. Undoubtedly, there is also more age discrimination in some highly technical fields involving computers."You said it, they'll never know the difference. Come on, we'll paint our way out!" - Moe HowardComment
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I just assumed that it proves most tax preparers keep at it until they become unbalanced."The only function of economic forecasting is to make astrology look respectful" - John Kenneth GalbraithComment
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Rapid Robert-- its just a statistic or maybe false news--nothing to get all worked up about. I do know a tax preparer who will be 94 this year and still doing taxes.
GeneComment
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OK, stop the presses! We have a new headline!Originally posted by Gene V View Post"You said it, they'll never know the difference. Come on, we'll paint our way out!" - Moe HowardComment
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Our father (founder) will be 86 this spring and this is his last year. Been doing it for over 60 years !!Comment
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H & R Block has a preparer who is 95. However, he started doing tax returns when he was 57, so this is a second profession for him.Comment
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I started in tax preparation around 1994 and worked six years for a fellow that had been preparing tax returns since the 1960s. It was his second job until retirement age and then he went full time. Not sure how he worked during the day and then came home to work on tax returns with paper and pencil. His wife told me one time that they would sit at the kitchen table with forms and booklets working on tax returns.
I never had the thought of being a tax preparer/enrolled agent. I just happened into it working as his assistant. He suggested I go to H&R Block and take their tax course to see if I would like it. That summer I worked on sample tax returns at his office then he let me start preparing the tax returns and I worked my way up. I guess you could say I fell into it. I changed my major to from data processing (tech school) to accounting/business administration.
He decided to semi retire and could not afford to pay me so I opened my business. Slow the first 3 years but 17 years later I am still here and hope to be for a long time. I enjoy my work although it gets hectic at times. It has also allowed me to work through illness when I probably would have been fired at a job. So I am blessed to have such a good business.
Not so sure how accurate the Times article stats are... as mentioned previously many start working as a tax preparer when they retire. I think you have to look at the whole picture as to when the person started working and what previous jobs they had before it.Last edited by geekgirldany; 04-18-2017, 04:02 PM.Comment
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Exactly. The STATISTICS in the Time article are almost certainly accurate, it's the INTEPRETATION of those statistics that is seriously flawed. There is another magazine called "The Week" which summarized the Time article (that's mostly what The Week is, summaries of higher-quality journalism from around the world), and they did not repeat the mistake, they said simply "tax preparation has the highest RATE of workers over age 65". Nothing about how LONG they work.Originally posted by geekgirldany View Post
If it's still not clear, look at it this way: of all residences, nursing homes almost certainly have the highest rate of people over age 80. Does that mean that nursing homes are the type of residence where people spend the most years living?"You said it, they'll never know the difference. Come on, we'll paint our way out!" - Moe HowardComment
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How About a Poll
I'm age 81 and started tax preparation in 1974 (pencil and paper).
Once you have the experience and education, it's easy to keep going in your retirement years in a home office. I started with a company now gone taking their training course for two consecutive years. Since then I've been attending seminars and most recently online courses. One of my most valuable learning tools is following tax forums such as this one.
DonB in ColoradoComment
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