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Pages 1-8

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From page 1...
... The effects of these inequities accumulate over the life course, affecting health and determining the resources and opportunities available for retiring or reducing employment in later life. Thus, transitions between work and retirement reproduce and reinforce social and economic inequality at older ages, and their effects are further compounded by the additional, well-documented effects of age discrimination.
From page 2...
... When the literature on work at older ages is viewed through this conceptual lens, two overarching conclusions emerge. CONCLUSION I: Older workers' preferences for work and specific work arrangements, their expec tations about available work opportunities and financial stability, and the constraints on their work opportunities and behaviors all reflect the impact of both age bias and social and economic inequalities that structure economic opportunity throughout the life course and lead to wide disparities in employ ment and retirement pathways at older ages.
From page 3...
... Employers are the crucial link between macro-level public policies and individuallevel outcomes among workers. Employers are also the main social actors who translate public policies into organizational practices that set the stage for individual decision-making, including workforce participation and retirement.
From page 4...
... Workplace Policies and Practices That Affect Work and Retirement Older adults are more likely than younger people to express preferences for specific work conditions, such as flexible work schedules or paid leave, and they report willingness to delay retirement or return to the labor force if such conditions were available. Workplace practices, such as flexible work schedules, the introduction of accommodative technologies and innovations, and worker training programs have been proposed as ways to improve the retention of older workers, but the effectiveness of these practices has not been empirically established.
From page 5...
... Adults who face limited work opportunities during their prime working years will face a considerable disadvantage in work opportunities and accumulated savings when they reach conventional retirement ages. Though work at older ages can substantially improve the financial security of older adults, particularly those with limited savings and wealth, work opportunities are not always available.
From page 6...
... A fundamental life course theme is that transitions, such as later adult exits from or reentries into paid work, occur within trajectories of experience that give them shape and meaning. By shifting the research focus to how early experiences and contexts influence older workers' current preferences, expectations, and constraints on opportunities for work, a life course perspective could identify how historical structural inequalities continue to affect inequality in work outcomes at older ages.
From page 7...
... It is critical to conduct research on lifetime earnings, saving, and wealth accumulation of historically disadvantaged groups, including lower-skilled vulnerable workers with discontinuous work histories and multiple or sporadic jobs, to better understand their pathways to retirement and income security in old age, including the effectiveness of public programs. Social programs play an important role in both income security and employment decisions at older ages, particularly for vulnerable populations, but more research is needed to understand how these programs affect labor force behavior at older ages.
From page 8...
... But these individual preferences, expectations, and constraints operate within complex systems of social and economic inequality that develop throughout the life course, and thus they may be specific to the historical circumstances in which individuals enter their adulthood and, later, their retirement ages. We know too little about the well-being 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.


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