There are many, many success stories of Boomers who have started a business.  My wife and I ran a small service business together after I left my professional career as an advertising executive. We used that business as a bridge from full-time work to part-time retirement. An unexpected bonus was that we were able to sell the business after seven years.

In an article on Business.com, Deborah Sweeney does a nice job of debunking three myths about starting a business when you're older:

1. "I'm too old"
2. "It's too risky to start a business"
3. "I don't know where to find capital."

Regarding the first, Sweeney advises, "If you're passionate about a product or have a great vision for a service, don't let your age hold you back from getting started." As for the risk, she says you can start more slowly and cautiously before you launch a full-time venture. As for the third myth, imagine the trouble young entrepreneurs have finding capital -- it turns out that older start-up owners typically have better established credit and contacts.

Sweeney's article is encouraging -- as are the stories of Boomers who have made a successful go of it in their later years. Many Boomers, especially professionals, have a great deal to offer as independent business owners. Even if your business produces a modest income, it can be personally rewarding and at least supplement other sources of retirement income.

Is this your year to take the plunge? 

We're not all fortunate enough to have jobs we might want to work at forever. But some of us are doing just that -- and instead of reinventing retirement, these folks are avoiding it.

Take the case of Judge Jack Weinstein, a spry 96-year old who has no intention of retiring. He was appointed some fifty years ago but isn't about to give up his profession now. He tells The New York Times, “I’m a better judge, in some respects, than when I was younger. I don’t remember names. But I listen more. And I’m more compassionate. I see things from more angles. If you are doing interesting work, you want to continue.”

Other elders love their jobs. Consider Warren Buffett, still an active investor at Berkshire-Hathaway at the age of 87. Or Adolfo Calovini, perhaps less famous than Buffett but no less active. Also mentioned in The New York Times article, the 82-year old Calovini teaches English as a second language at a New York high school. An immigrant. Calovini has a special understanding of the students who take his class. He tells The Times, “To me, teaching is about life. This is what I do. I can’t see a time when I wouldn’t.”

Weinstein, Buffett and Calovini are just examples of the 1-1/2 million people still working after the age of 75, reports the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The Bureau estimates that almost 11 percent of the workforce will be age 75 or older by 2026.

If you have a job you love, consider yourself lucky -- maybe it'll be yours for life.

There has been a spate of books recently about seeking employment for Boomers. Here's one that is particularly interesting.

One of my blog readers, Rick Manning, is an executive recruiter with over 40 years in the employment field. He has authored and recently published a new ebook: You are a Classic: An Employment Guide for Baby Boomers. Geared to all job candidates over 50, this employment guide has been written to provide the reader with both support and expert instruction; in particular, with additional focus on empowerment and inspiration for those dismayed and dispirited by perceived ageism, which can be prevalent in the marketplace.

This guide also provides information offering a perspective on “positive aging” and optimistic attitude and outlook. Further, it has suggestions to help confront the common emotional impediments, which often occasion difficult job searches. Says Manning, "It is my intention to provide older job candidates with a proactive approach to their job hunting campaign, where they can take satisfaction in their effort worthy of a healthy self-esteem."

You can purchase You are a Classic wherever ebooks are sold, or directly from Amazon by clicking here. The Amazon listing includes the option to view a Table of Contents and a portion of the first chapter.

New year, new goals: If one of yours is retiring from your job, hold on just a minute. Well, make that three to six months.

A recent report entitled "The Power of Working Longer," issued by the National Bureau of Economic Research concludes the following: 

"...delaying retirement by 3-6 months has the same impact on the retirement standard of living as saving an additional one-percentage point of labor earnings for 30 years. The relative power of saving more is even lower if the decision to increase saving is made later in the work life. For instance, increasing retirement saving by one percentage point ten years before retirement has the same impact on the sustainable retirement standard of living as working a single month longer. The calculations of the relative power of working longer and saving more are done for a wide range of realized rates of returns on saving, for households with different income levels, and for singles as well as married couples. The results are quite invariant to these circumstances."

MarketWatch looked at the report and added the following analysis:

"So why does working longer have such an impact on the standard of living in retirement? Because it bolsters two types of retirement income — Social Security benefits and 401(k) withdrawals, the research says. The longer a person works, the longer Social Security is deferred, which means a higher benefit check. The worker’s 401(k) withdrawal will also be higher from more money in the account. Social Security makes up 81% of retirement income in this case, the researchers said, and 401(k) payments make up the rest."

Bottom line: If you've been thinking about retiring this year, maybe you should hold out just a little bit longer. Experts think it will make a significant difference when it comes to financing your retirement years.