Research Published on Relationship in United States of Education and Wages Among Older Employees

The Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR) reports that research it has conducted finds that higher education pays off for women and men for all ages 50 and older, including for the oldest group studied, those 75 and older. According to "How Education Pays Off for Older Americans," by Heidi Hartmann, Ph.D., and Jeff Hayes, Ph.D., those with higher levels of education—meaning those with at least some education beyond high school—work more at older ages and earn more per hour at older ages, relative to those with less education. However, women earn less at every age and education level than men, and often earn about the same as men who are at the educational level below them.

Among other things, the report finds that:

• Estimated earnings of older Americans age 65 until their eventual retirement are three to almost five times higher for those with advanced degrees compared to those with only high school or less (and two to almost three times higher for those with Bachelor’s degrees).
• The largest occupations for older women and men reveal considerable gender differences. Not only is there little overlap in the largest occupations for men and women aged 50 and older—only retail salespersons appear in the women’s and men’s lists of their ten largest occupations—but the occupations in which older men work pay more.
• For those aged 75 and older, several very high wage occupations are among the most common for men: physicians and surgeons (at $64.54 per hour), lawyers and judges (at $59.13 per hour), and chief executives and legislators (at $48.00 per hour). For older women of the same age group, the highest paying occupation in the top ten list is secretary and receptionist at $15.37 per hour.

Source: Institute for Women's Policy Research Press Release (January 2, 2014)