Conference Board Issues Report on U.S. Workers Increasingly Delaying Retirement

According to the Conference Board, the recession has put even greater pressure on U.S. workers to stay on the job, a trend that had started in the mid-1990s. The Conference Board report--"U.S. Workers Delaying Retirement What Businesses Can Learn from the Trends of Who, Where, and Why"--notes that these trends can vary according to industry:

[W]e see that delayed retirement has been more prevalent for some occupations and industries. For example, the healthcare industry experienced the largest decline in retirement rates in recent years. Jobs in this field are also in great demand. On the other hand, there was almost no retirement delay among government workers, who are more likely to receive defined benefit pension plans.

Gad Levanon, Associate Director of Macroeconomic Research at The Conference Board, and author of the report, says that "[d]elayed retirement allows households to consume more today and reduce the probability of a prolonged slowdown in the U.S. economy, and enables households to reach retirement with more financial resources."

Among other things brought out by the report that can help businesses develop a better workforce strategy, is that delayed retirement provides relief for several more years in industries that will suffer significant "brain drain" from baby boomers leaving. However, for companies looking to reduce headcount, slash labor costs, hire new workers or promote younger workers, delayed retirement could be viewed as a negative development.

Source: Conference Board Press Release (May 19, 2011)