A new report from the McKinsey Health Institute outlines a variety of strategies to address the global healthcare workforce shortage, which is expected to reach 10 million by 2030. While the report focuses broadly on transforming the healthcare delivery system, it includes one lesser-known solution that could benefit overburdened sectors like long-term care: bringing retirees back into the workforce.

The report notes that nearly 20% of older adults in high-income countries expressed interest in returning to work but are not currently doing so. Unretirement, as the report calls it, could help fill key healthcare positions and offer personal meaning and connection for older adults seeking purposeful post-retirement work.

Although a general shortage of healthcare workers exists across many disciplines, the long-term care sector is especially affected, facing both high burnout and staffing vacancies. The report highlights that reskilled retirees could help relieve strain by taking on community health worker roles. These positions typically require shorter training periods and provide a bridge between communities and formal health systems.

Older adults are not only willing but often well-positioned to step into these roles, the McKinsey Health Institute noted. Retirees may bring valuable life experience, interpersonal skills and cultural knowledge — assets particularly relevant in community care environments. The report also cites studies showing that older workers can enhance workplace stability and retention.

Flexible work arrangements, such as part-time or community-based hours, could make these roles especially attractive to retirees. The report recommends pilot programs to test feasibility and success factors for employing older adults in healthcare, particularly in support roles that require minimal training.