AARP Survey Reports that Half of Older Workers Who Were Unemployed in Last Five Years Remain Jobless

According to a survey conducted by AARP, 50% of the surveyed 45- to 70-year-olds who experienced job losses during the past five years reported they were either unemployed or had dropped out of the labor force. Among those who had become reemployed, nearly half said they were earning less than in their previous jobs. The report on the survey&madash;"The Long Road Back: Struggling to Find Work after Unemployment" also examines the different experiences between people who had been short-term unemployed—less than six months—with those who had been long-term unemployed—more than six months.

Among other things, the survey found that:

• 38% reported they were unemployed, and 12% had dropped out of the labor force;
  
• 48% of the reemployed said that they were earning less on their current job than the job they had before they most recently become unemployed;
  
• 59% of the reemployed who suffered a long-term spell of unemployment were earning less in their current job, compared to 41% who had been short-term unemployed;
  
• 41% of those who experienced long-term unemployment are working in part-time jobs:
  
• 53% had an occupation different from the one they had prior to becoming unemployed;
  
• 25% of the respondents who landed jobs and participated in training or education programs in the previous five years said it helped a great deal in finding a job.

See also AARP's Public Policy Institute initiative on Future of Work @50+.Sources: AARP Press Release (March 30, 2015); Washington Post Wonkblog"Losing a job is always terrible. For workers over 50, it’s worse." (March 30, 2015)

AARP Report Reviews Importance of Workforce Development Programs to Older Workers

The AARP Public Policy Institute has issued a report reviewing public workforce development programs in the United States over the last eighty years with a special emphasis on their importance to older Americans. In "Selected Public Workforce Development Programs in the United States Lessons Learned for Older Workers," Stephen A. Wandner (Urban Institute and W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research), David E. Balducchi (W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research and Wandner and Associates, Inc.), and Christopher J. O’Leary (W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research) paid attention is paid to services benefitting dislocated workers—that is, experienced adults permanently separated from their prior employers.

The report suggests some policy options to increase the availability and effectiveness of services for older jobseekers making use of the American Job Center Network. These suggestions relate to employment services, training, reemployment bonuses, and public service employment, among other things.

Source: AARP Public Policy Institute New Reports (March 18, 2015)

AARP Public Policy Institute Issues Report on Skills Training and Education for Older Workers

The AARP Public Policy Institute has issued a report written by Carl Van Horn, Kathy Krepcio and Maria Heidkamp of the John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, which explores a range of issues relating to skills training and education for older workers, including the challenges older workers face when deciding whether to enroll in education and training programs, and, if so, how to choose a program and pay for it. "Improving Education and Training for Older Workers" make several recommendations based on its findings related to the vast array of education and training options available to older workers, as well as education and training financing options available to them.

Among other things, the report found that:

• Many older unemployed workers lack the skills that are currently in demand.
  
• Many older job seekers are not well informed about the skills they will need to
  obtain a job or the best and most cost-effective way to obtain them.
  
• Many federal and state workforce programs are not targeted to the needs of adult and working learners.

The report's recommendations include:

• Government policy makers should insist on greater transparency from training providers and require them to report on the cost, duration, completion rates, and employment and earnings outcomes.
  
• Congress should reform financial aid programs to better assist older workers, including requiring educational institutions to improve financial aid counseling for adult learners from qualified, independent third parties.
  
• The tax system could be reformed to provide more financial support for older workers, such as expanding tax credits and deductions for education-related expenses such as transportation, childcare, and elder care.

Source: AARP Public Policy Institute News Release (February 25, 2015)

Nevada: AARP Surveys Opinions about Discrimination against Older Workers

AARP has released the results of a survey of older voters in Nevada designed to determine public views on older workers, age discrimination, and the Protecting Older Workers Against Discrimination Act (POWADA). According to "Protecting Older Workers Against Discrimination Act: A Survey of Nevada Voters Ages 50+ (POWADA)," over one-third of older voters report that they or someone they know has recently experienced age discrimination in the workplace, and 89% say it is important for Congress to take action and restore workplace protections against age discrimination.

In addition, 92% of those surveyed agree that the high cost of gas, health care, food, and housing requires many Americans to work longer in order to rebuild their retirement savings, with 78% strongly agreeing. Also, 90% agree that older Americans are putting off retirement either to make ends meet or to save money for retirement.

AARP's survey followed on a 2012 survey of older voters in Alaska, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, and Tennessee.

Source: AARP Press Release (March 2014)

SHRM and AARP Announce 2013's Best Employers for Workers over 50

National Institutes of Health (NIH) has been announced as the top honoree in the 2013 search for the AARP Best Employers for Workers Over 50, cosponsored by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). The awards spotlight employers that have implemented programs that help retain, retrain, engage and recruit mature workers, and, among other things, NIH exemplifies the awards goals by providing generous health benefits and a “Fit Plus Program” that strongly supports the needs of employees 50 and over who are beginning or maintaining a fitness program. In addition, full-time employees are eligible to move to part-time work on a permanent or temporary basis.

Scripps Health of Southern California, the 2012 winner, and the 2013 runner-up, offers a number of alternative work arrangements, including a phased retirement program. Employees have an opportunity to gain new experience by working on temporary assignments in other departments, on team projects, and by having access to formal job rotation and mentoring programs. In addition, Scripps employees are able to take advantage of strong health benefits, and wellness-related benefits are used by more than two-thirds of the staff, including flu shots, health screenings, health risk appraisals, smoking cessation programs, health club discounts, physical activity and weight loss programs, on-site massages, and stress management training.

See AARP's website for a full list of the 50 winners, as well as links to descriptions of the employment practices and benefits that garnered their recognition.

Source: SHRM Press Release (June 17, 2013)

AARP Starts Releasing Snapshots of 2013 Multicultural Work and Career Study

AARP has announced that it is completing work on its 2013 Multicultural Work and Career Study. Following up on studies performed in 2002 and in 2007, the report will provide an in-depth look at workers ages 45-74: their reasons for working, perceived job security, differential treatment received because of age, their ideal work scenario, the challenges they face, their plans for retirement, and more. In advance of the full report AARP has released its first snapshot, looking at African Americans.

According to the snapshot, a large number of older African-Americans are anxious about continuing weaknesses in the economy and small businesses in which they are involved. Among other things, the study reports that approximately 24% of these workers have lost a job in the past five years, financial motives--money (96%) and saving for retirement (92%)--are the top reasons for working (although 91% also report enjoying their job), and 57%have been in the same job for at least five years.

Source: AARP Surveys and Statistics (February 2013)

Older Americans Support Legislation To Fight Age Discrimination in Workplace

The AARP has released a survey finding that 78% of registered voters over 50 support passage of the bipartisan "Protecting Older Workers Against Discrimination Act,: which is aimed at is overturning the U.S. Supreme Court decision (Gross v. FBL Financial Services) that made it much more difficult for older workers to prove claims of illegal bias based on age. Furthermore, according to "Protecting Older Workers Against Discrimination Act: National Public Opinion Report," over one-third (34%) reported that they or someone they know has experienced age discrimination in the workplace.

On questions related to the proposed legislation, 90% said that competent workers should be able to stay on the job regardless of their age, and 91% agree that older Americans should be protected from age discrimination just as they are protected from other forms of discrimination. In addition, 64% think that people over age 50 face age discrimination in the workplace.

AARP has also published survey segments of the opinion of older voters in Alaska, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, and Tennessee.

Source: AARP Press Release (June 21, 2012)

Video: AARP Inside E-Street Looks at Graying Workforce

AARP's video arm has published a three-part series on Inside E-Street about the graying workforce, including an examination of the silver tsunami, workplace design, and how to recruit and retain older workers.

In "The Silver Tsunami," Inside E-Street looks at the changing U.S. workforce and what it means for employers.

In "Changing the Workplace Environment," Josh Kerst, vice president of Humantech and a certified professional ergonomist, speaks with Inside E-Street about the many physical changes that companies can make to their environment to keep employees not only healthy but also more productive.

In "Recruit, Retain, and Integrate Older Workers," Inside E-Street speaks with Samantha Greenfield, a member of Boston College’s Sloan Center on Aging & Work about the cultural transformation that many workplaces must go through.

Source: AARP Inside E-Street: The Graying Workforce (April 9, 2012)

U.S. Employers Ramping Up, but Still Unprepared, for Boomers Leaving the Workforce

U.S. employers are ramping up skills training and employee benefits aimed at closing skills gaps left when Baby Boomers retire, and at retaining and recruiting older workers, according to poll results released by Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and AARP. Nevertheless, many U.S. organizations are largely unprepared for the brain drain and skills void that talented, retiring older workers will leave.

On the positive side, according to the SHRM–AARP Strategic Workforce Planning survey, 72% of human resource professionals polled described the loss of talented older workers to be "a problem" or "a potential problem" for their organizations, and many organizations have taken actions to prepare for the loss of talented older workers who retire, including the following:

• increased training and cross-training (45%;
• developed succession planning (38%);
• hired retired employees as consultants or temporary workers (30%);
• offered flexible work arrangements (27%); and
• designed part-time positions to attract older workers (24%).

On the other side, 71% of those polled still have not conducted a strategic workforce planning assessment to analyze the impact of workers 50 and older who will leave their organizations.

SHRM and AARP have partnered to help U.S. businesses and organizations, and, among other things, AARP offers a free, online Workforce Assessment Tool, providing a snapshot of an organization’s workforce and demographics and analyzes its programs to leverage the talents of its older workers, and the SHRM-AARP Partnership Resource Page includes poll and survey findings, articles, and links to the assessment tool, among others.

Source: Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) Press Release (April 9, 2012)

Webcast: AARP Foundation Panels on Positioning Older Workers for Hourly Wage Jobs

On February 2, 2012 AARP Foundation hosted: "A Critical Conversation: Positioning Older Workers for Hourly Wage Jobs in Demand." The first video segment features research presentations on employer needs, including the following topics and presenters:

• Employer Research on Finding Qualified Candidates - Rebecca Perron, PhD, AARP Research and Strategic Analysis
  
• Will Workers Have the Education Needed for Future Jobs? - Hans Johnson, PhD, Public Policy Institute of California
  
• Innovative Workforce Strategies for Older Adults - Phyllis Snyder, CAEL (Council of Adult and Experiential Learning)

In the second video segment, Jim Torrens of Insight Center for Community Economic Development moderates a panel discussion between Employment Sector and Workforce Services Sector professionals, including:

• Steve Wing, Corporate Voices for Working Families
• Karen Key, National Human Service Assembly
• Jerold Ramos, AlliedBarton Security Services
• Joe Carbone, The WorkPlace, Bridgeport, CT
• Deb Briceland-Betts, AARP Foundation SCSEP
• Simon Lopez, National Council of La Raza, Workforce Services

Source: AARP Foundation YouTube (February 2, 2012)

AARP Announces 15 Best International Employers of Workers Over 50

AARP has released its 2011 list of the 15 companies and organizations globally that have the most positive workplace policies for their older workers. The list includes winners from Australia, Austria, Germany, Japan, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Singapore and the United Kingdom and includes four employers that have won before.

Among the practices cited by AARP as worthy of recognition were:

• promoting older workers through a training camp designed to help older job applicants and the long-term unemployed re-enter the workforce (DB Services; Germany)
• designating older workers in each function as subject matter experts; their role as facilitators and trainers has helped raise the profile of older workers and contributed to a culture shift in the organization (Lam Soon Edible Oils Sdn Bhd; Malaysia)
• offering a partial retirement scheme that allows older workers to draw company pension benefits while continuing to work part-time (Marks and Spencer plc; United K
  

Source: AARP News Release (September 7, 2011)

AARP: Survey Show Depth of Recession's Effect on Older Workers

An AARP survey shows that older Americans, whether working or not, are emerging from the recent recession worried about their financial future and taking actions to rebuild some measure of retirement security. According to "Recovering from the Great Recession: Long Struggle Ahead for Older Americans", published by the AARP Public Policy Institute, 24.7% of those 50 and over surveyed reported exhausting all savings during the recession, and 36.4% who had difficulty making ends meet stopped or cut back on saving for retirement. To recover some financial stability, 44.1% said they would likely work part-time in retirement, and 33.4% said that they planned to delay retirement.

“This unprecedented economic recession has left a legacy of low confidence, lower savings and the lowest employment rates in decades,” concluded [John Rother, AARP’s Executive Vice President for Policy, Strategy and International Affairs]. “While we are hopeful about improving economic conditions, this survey reminds us that older Americans will feel the effects of the recession for years to come.”

Source: AARP News Release (May 24, 2011)

Check out discussion on Huffington Post blog report on the AARP survey.

Survey: AARP Takes Closer Look at Impact of Recession on 45+ Lower Income Workers

AARP has published results of its investigation of the struggles lower-income older adults are facing during the recession. Among other things, the Closer Look June 2010 Survey found that nearly six in 10 Americans 45+ who make less than $25,000 a year say they are either "not at all" or "not too" confident they will have enough money to pay medical and living expenses in retirement, compared to 36 percent of higher income adults.

On work-related matters, 28% stopped contributing to retirement savings in the past six months, and 14% of adults 45 to 64 reported having to prematurely withdraw funds from retirement savings vehicles. In addition, with many older workers currently facing extended unemployment, 63% said that, based on what they have experienced or observed, older workers face age discrimination in the workplace.

Source: AARP News Release (September 13, 2010)

AARP Reports that Unemployment for Older Workers Not Improving as Recession Peaks

AARP has been tracking how older workers fare as the United States comes out of the recession. Looking at the November 2009 numbers, it found that while unemployment make have peaked, older job seekers saw their unemployment rate, duration of unemployment, involuntary part-time employment rate, and job-seeking discouragement rise. Further, looking at the December 2009 numbers, AARP reported that overall unemployment did not increase, 29,000 more persons aged 55 and over were unemployed in December than in November, bringing the total unemployment rate for this group up to 7.2% from 7.1%.

Sources: AARP Public Policy Institute Fact Sheet (December 2009), Fact Sheet (January 2010)

AARP Issues Report on Job Training for Older Workers in Alabamat

According to AARP, over the past five years, 59% of Alabama workers age 40 and over have participated in job-related skills training or education programs offered to them by an employer, and 86% of them indicate they personally have not had to pay for that training. These are some of the results of a survey commissioned by AARP to gain a deeper understanding of the perspective, skills, and needs of older workers in the state to better provide them with focused, targeted information and resources.

The full report "Job Skills Training and Opportunities: Opinions and Perceptions of Alabama Workers Age 40+", authored by Jennifer H. Sauer and Cassandra Burton, also finds that 86% of older workers are satisfied with the work-related training opportunities offered through their employers, with 60% saying they are extremely or very satisfied, and another 26% indicating they are somewhat satisfied. Looking forward, 51% said they were extremely or very likely to engage in any job training through their employer over the next five years, but 31% said they were not likely to do so. In addition, 52% did not think that additional job training would help them advance in their job or help get a better job.

On worker attitudes towards employment as they get older, the survey reports that, among all Alabama workers and those looking for work, 40% plan to continue working at their current job either full or part-time when they reach retirement age. "For the majority of respondents, needing or wanting additional income (84%), enjoying work (84%), building up a personal savings (79%), and maintaining health coverage for themselves or their families (72%) are major/minor factors in deciding to work beyond retirement."

Source: AARP Knowledge Management Survey Report (October 2009)

AARP Announces 2009 Best Employers for Workers over 50

AARP has announced its annual list of the 50 best employers in the United States for workers 50 and over, and, for the first time one employer--Cornell University--has repeasted as the top finisher.

“AARP is delighted that Cornell has placed first for the second year in a row in the Best Employers program,” said Deborah Russell, AARP’s Director of Workforce Issues. “The university is famed for its creative academic policies and its approach to 50 and over workers is no different. It has continued to innovate with new programs in the past year.”

Among the programs offered by Cornell, noted AARP, are a formal phased retirement program for faculty and staff, telecommuting and compressed work weeks, a retiree health and prescription drug plan heavily subsidized by the university, paid time off for care giving, and access for retirees to continued university education at no charge.

At AARP's Best Employers site, AARP has published its list of the top 10 innovative international employers and, for the first time, a separate hospitals and health care best employers honor roll.

Source: AARP Press Release (September 9, 2009)

Research: Second Careers for Older Workers

AARP's Public Policy Institute has published a research report examining the characteristics of workers who change careers in late life, finding, among other things that later-life career change seems to be an important part of the retirement process. According to "Older Workers on the Move: Recareering in Later Life", authored by Richard W. Johnson, Janette Kawachi, and Eric K. Lewis of The Urban Institute, nearly two-thirds of workers who change jobs (and 27% of all older workers) switch occupations.

Called such career changes "recareering," the study reports that workers who change careers typically move into jobs that pay less and offer fewer benefits. However, the new careers tend to offer more flexible work arrangements, less stressful working conditions, and fewer managerial responsibilities. For workers interested in delaying retirement after long careers, such jobs may be just what they are looking for. In addition, the study finds that late-life occupational change is more common among men because women are less likely to continue working if they leave an employer in their fifties.

The research concludes that later-life career change seems to be an important part of the retirement process. Many changers later in life appear to be pushed into new lines of work involuntarily following job layoffs or business closings. Others, however, appear to place a high premium on leaving 9-5 work and moving into more flexible positions, even at less pay. Some older workers may change careers in hopes of finding more meaningful jobs that give added purpose to their lives.

Source: AARP Public Policy Institute Research Report (May 2009)

AARP Research Report Explores New Means for Transitioning to Retirement

An AARP research report has been published exploring the concern that policies being explored to extend working lives—-and delay the claiming of Social Security benefits—-as a means to ensure workers' retirement security and Social Security's finances may inflict real hardship on some older workers who retire earlier because of health and related problems. Accordingly, in "Employment Support for the Transition to Retirement: Can a New Program Help Older Workers Continue to Work and Protect Those Who Cannot?", David Stapleton of Mathematica Policy Research, Inc., proposes a new program--Employment Support for the Transition to Retirement (ESTR)--that could help “break the deadlock” that stymies efforts to adopt policies that encourage later retirement.

Stapleton's vision of ESTR is that it would provide assistance to workers who experience large involuntary earnings losses as they approach age 62. It would provide a wide range of benefits, tailored to individual need—including wage subsidies and other work supports, health insurance subsidies, disability benefits, extended unemployment benefits, and employment counseling. While not individually new, what is new is the idea of a substantial and coordinated expansion of these elements in the context of retirement policy reform.

Source: AARP Research Report In Brief (April 2009)

Research Study Pushes for Cultural Changes To Increase Workplace Flexibility for Older Workers

An AARP Public Policy Institute Insight on the Issues report focuses on the availability of and barriers to flexible work options, with a particular focus on older workers and phased retirement. According to the Making Work More Flexible: Opportunities and Evidence, prepared by Melissa A. Hardy of The Pennsylvania State University, many employers remain skeptical of flexible work options, despite growing evidence that they can benefit both employers and employees. Among other things, these employers fear that labor costs, output, or administrative efficiency will be unfavorably affected.

Among other things, the report looks at phased retirement, finding that while older workers express considerable interest in scaling back their work hours prior to full retirement, and many analysts and older worker advocates contend that such work options could prolong working life, relatively few workers have access to formal phased retirement options.

Source: AARP Research Report (November 2008)

AARP Study Reports Most Older Works Intend To Work into "Retirement" Years

An AARP survey has found that 70 percent of mature workers plan to work into what they view as their retirement years. Updating a 2002 survey, "Staying Ahead of the Curve 2007: The AARP Work and Career Study" reports that 27% of the 45-75 year olds questioned cited a need for money as the reason for continuing to work, while 21% attributed their decision to work in retirement to the fact that they enjoy working.

The study also reported that 51% of those interviewed said they plan to work part-time in retirement, while 29% do not plan to work. Another 11% plan to start their own business or work for themselves, while 6% plan to work full-time.

Included in the final report is a "Blueprint For Change" section that focuses on creative policies utilized by progressive employers. Among other things, these best practices include flexible schedules and work arrangements, cCompetitive health and other benefits, restructuring jobs or workplaces to accommodate employees’ unique needs later in life, recharging late-career workers with updated training, and utilizing knowledge retention strategies.

Source: AARP Press Release (October 20, 2008)