Giving back in second acts

It used to be you'd collect your pension and whatever toys you could afford and exit the workforce.  But that model's fading away.

A former reporter who chronicled Bill Gates' epic story — and who now helps people find second careers — said the Microsoft chief's announcement to focus on his family's foundation was a benchmark.

"He was the poster child of the computer age; now he'll be the poster child for this 'encore' career where you take on something new at midlife," says David Bank, senior vice president of Civic Ventures.  Gates is not alone in giving back at midlife.

Baby Boomer Catherine Meloy used to run a radio network with more than 1,000 stations, but now she checks out the Goodwill stores she manages in the Washington, D.C., area or visits one of the classrooms paid for by Goodwill's profits so the disabled or unemployed can join the workforce. 

And about her 25-year career as a radio exec?  "There isn't a day that I look back and say, I wish I was still there," says Meloy.

Maybe just a new way to use your old skills that can also help pay the bills in a phased retirement.  "I still wanted to be very involved in a business and Goodwill is a business," she says.

Source: MSNBC, June 16, 2006