The U.S. population is aging. In fact, by 2030, one-fifth of the population will be over age 65.

Recent cohorts of older adults have experienced better health and longevity than previous cohorts as the result of medical and public health advancements, which have enabled many of these older adults to extend their working lives. This shift may have significant effects on the economy and key social programs. Higher work engagement could soften the potential negative effects of an aging population on the economy and social programs and improve health and financial security for older adults. However, these trends have occurred among a complicating backdrop of widening economic and social inequality that has meant that access to these gains in health, improvements in mortality, and opportunities for later-life employment has been distributed unequally.

Changes in work and retirement behaviors of older adults, particularly a shift away from a single transition from full-time work into retirement and toward more diverse pathways between work and nonwork, are challenging what it means to work and retire in the United States.

The age distribution of employed adults in the U.S. by gender, 2000-2020

As the population ages and more older adults continue to work, a higher percentage of the labor force is ages 60 and over.

SOURCE: Data from 2000-2020 March Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement Data Files calculated by U.S. Census Bureau online data table tool (Beta version).

Access the report for the full data.

FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS

Older worker retirement behaviors are guided by three primary forces:

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Individual preferences for work and specific work arrangements

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Expectations about available work opportunities and future financial stability

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Constraints on their work opportunities and behaviors

These three forces (preferences, expectations, and constraints) are shaped by both individual characteristics and complex systems of social and economic inequality that individuals experience throughout their lives, which means that they may be specific to the historical circumstances in which individuals enter their adulthood and, later, their retirement ages.

A conceptual framework of work and retirement pathways

Individual preferences, expectations, and constraints shape the many types of transitions that older adults make back and forth between paid work and unpaid work/nonwork states over time.

Preferences/Expectations/Constraints PAID WORK Full-time vs. Part-time Caregiving Disability Volunteering Time/Aging Unemployment/ Retirement Career/Organization Jobs vs. Non-Career/Encore Jobs Employed vs. Self-employed UNPAID WORK/NONWORK Health and Well-being

Vulnerable Older Populations

Despite substantial research on older workers over the past several decades, we know too little about the wellbeing of older workers and of those who are not working but may wish to do so under certain conditions, as well as of those who are working despite a preference to retire. To address these gaps, there is a need for future research to explore contemporary—and changing—experiences of work and retirement and the conditions that are shaping health and well-being.

The experiences of vulnerable older populations remain understudied within the current literature. The relative lack of research attention to these populations limits understanding of the ways in which inequality in retirement and work opportunities and outcomes contributes to broader social and economic inequality that affects the well-being of older adults.

Vulnerable populations include:

Those with MULTIPLE INTERSECTING VULNERABILITIES Women Racial and ethnic minorities Immigrants Those with less education Those who have low income or limited savings and wealth Those living in rural or economically disadvantaged areas

Defining a Research Agenda for Older Workers

Future research should consider the heterogeneity of experiences within the older worker population, including the diverse ways in which work and retirement outcomes are shaped by broader contexts of age bias and social and economic inequality throughout the life course.

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The Employer-Older Employee Relationship

Workplace norms, policies, and practices within the context of the employer-employee relationship shape work and retirement pathways by constraining or increasing older workers’ ability to make decisions.

Employers translate public policies into organizational practices, setting the stage for individual decision making, such as workforce participation and retirement. Workplace practices shape the incentives and opportunities for older workers to remain productive and engaged. Understanding the role of these practices in facilitating longer working lives is critical. Important related areas for future research include the implementation of workplace policies, including the roles of employee voice and employer interests; policies and practices that structure work schedules and work environments; and the improvement of measures of age discrimination in order to better understand the role it plays in constraining preferences and opportunities for work at older ages.

WATCH THE WEBINAR ON WORKPLACE POLICIES AND PRACTICES:

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Work and Resource Inequalities in Later Adulthood

Much of the research on older workers focuses on the experiences of socially and economically advantaged workers because they are more likely to work longer. Historically disadvantaged subgroups are less likely to have control over when, where, and how much to work or the resources and opportunities to make choices about their work that reflect their preferences.

Less is known about how:

  • preferences for work and retirement
  • expectations about the availability and impact of work and retirement opportunities at older ages
  • constraints on work behaviors and opportunities

reflect these differences between disadvantaged and advantaged groups, intersect with age biases, and translate into different employment patterns at older ages, as well as how they may contribute to social and economic inequality in later life.

Older adults face inequities in health, employment opportunities, and financial resources that limit their ability to make choices about employment. These inequities build and accumulate throughout the life course in ways that reflect underlying economic inequality in opportunity by gender, race-ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and geography.

Viewing the work experience of older adults through the conceptual lens of the life course—understanding the ways in which current opportunities have been shaped by social, economic, and political experiences and environments at younger ages—can promote a better understanding of disparities in later adulthood by improving understanding of the processes that lead to inequality in retirement.

WATCH THE WEBINAR ON THE ROLE OF SOCIAL POLICY:

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The Work-Health-Caregiving Interface

Although the relationship between physical health and work at older ages has been well established, less is known about other aspects of the relationship between health and work at older ages, particularly the role of mental health.

Another data gap includes how the health and caregiving needs of family members constrain opportunities and shape preferences for work at older ages.

While research has addressed the role of technological change in spurring labor market changes that can lead to job loss among older workers, much less is known about how technological change can extend working lives through workplace accommodative practices.

Moreover, little is known about how recent declines in health at midlife and younger ages—particularly among those with less education—or the long-term effects of COVID-19 will affect labor force participation and worker needs for accommodative practices in the future. These issues take on greater urgency given the growing number of adults at midlife and at younger ages with poorer health, the long-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, and recent increases in midlife mortality.

WATCH THE WEBINAR ON AGE DISCRIMINATION:

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Sponsor: The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation

The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation funded a National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine consensus study to assess what is known about the aging workforce in the United States, identify gaps in current knowledge about the aging United States workforce, and make recommendations for future research and data collection efforts.

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