Report: Recession Has Significant Effect on Retirement Plans of Older Americans

The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research has issued a report with the results of a survey exploring the views of older Americans about their plans for work and retirement. Among other things, "Working Longer: Older Americans' Attitudes on Work and Retirement" finds that:

• the average age of those who report retiring before the recession was 57 while the average for those who retired afterward is 62;
  
• 82% of Americans age 50 and older who are working but not yet retired saying it is likely or very likely that they will do some work for pay during their retirement;
  
• of those who are currently working, 47% now plan to retire at a later age than they expected when they were 40; and
  
• 20% of working Americans age 50 and older report that they have personally experienced prejudice or discrimination because of their age in the job market or at work since
  turning 50, and 44% of those who experienced discrimination have looked for a job in the past five years compared with 16% of those who did not report discrimination.
  

Additional information, including the Associated Press stories based on the results of this national survey of 1,024 adults ages 50 and over and the survey’s complete topline findings can be found on the AP-NORC Center’s website. Source: Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research Press Release (October 14, 2013)

Europe: Report Calls on EU and Member States To Maximise the Potential of Older Workers

The International Longevity Centre–UK (ILC-UK) has issued a report exploring how the European Union and its 28 members have responded to the working longer agenda. The report--"Working Longer: An EU perspective"--argues that older people have not been exempt from the impact of the recession, and that governments should put extra resource into tackling ageism and creating the right sort of jobs for an older workforce.

Among other things, the report highlights that:

• Europe faces significant skills gaps due to demographic change.
• EU Membership has gone alongside growth in participation of older workers.
• Across Europe, incentives to retire early have gradually been removed, whilst state pension ages have begun to increase.
• Government initiatives to support older workers are often poorly evaluated for effectiveness.
• Governments have not met an EU target set in 2001 to achieve 50% employment rate of older workers by 2010.

The report explores seven challenges for the EU and Member States:

1. Achieving gender equality.
2. Skilling up the older workforce.
3. Supporting older people in the recession.
4. Matching demand and supply in the labour market.
5. Tackling ageism.
6. Improving health. One of the biggest challenges facing the working longer agenda is poor health of older workers.
7. Recognising the diversity of the working experience.

The report argues that European decision-makers and member states should take a life course approach, make better use fiscal incentives, create more, better and more appropriate jobs, address inequalities, and deliver a targeted research agenda. Source: International Longevity Centre Press Release (September 4, 2013)

Connecticut: Report Suggests Aging Workforce Harming Economic Recovery

According to a report from the Connecticut Center of Economic Analysis at the University of Connecticut, the state is recovering from the recession, "but without the robustness needed to restore reasonably full employment and household income." Furthermore, "Connecticut faces a dismal future, with its 65 and over population doubling, its working age population shrinking while its quality deteriorates, and its under‐18 cohort contracts." However, according to "Recovery Stirring? But will Connecticut be too Old to Compete? The Connecticut Economic Outlook: May 2012," the state has "one asset that could vault it to the top of the growth charts and, critically, rescue it from its current bleak demographic trajectory."

According to the report's authors, the challenge for Connecticut is to replace all 120,000 jobs lost since 2008 and to create substantially more--at least 50,000 net net--to retain and attract new workers, to change its demographic future. To do this, they recommend that the state "unleash existing stranded tax credits in a highly targeted program to drive economic growth.  If the $2.5 billion in tax credits currently sitting unused and unusable on balance sheets could be redeemed ex post against the cost of major capital projects."

Given current labor force patterns and participation rates, with an aggressive expansion policy, Connecticut could effectively compete both to retain its own educated youth and to pull in thousands of new workers, significantly exceeding its previous employment level.  In the longer term, together with the initiatives in place, aggressive use of the stranded tax credits would launch Connecticut on a long‐term dynamic path that would continue expanding employment opportunities for two or more decades.

Source: The CT Mirror "Report: Aging workforce threatens state's economic recovery" (May 23, 2012)

GAO Issues Report on Status of Unemployed Older Workers in the United States

The U.S. General Accountability Office (GAO) has released a report focusing on the status of unemployed older workers coming out of the recession. As a report to the Senate Special Committee on the Aging, the GAO's "Unemployed Older Workers: Many Experience Challenges Regaining Employment and Face Reduced Retirement Security" examines:

1. how older workers’ employment status has changed since the recession,
2. what risks unemployed older workers face and what challenges they experience in finding reemployment,
3. how long-term unemployment could affect older workers’ retirement income, and
4. what other policies might help them return to work and what steps the Department of Labor (Labor) has taken to help unemployed older workers.

The GAO concluded that "Although long-term unemployment hurts job seekers of all ages, it poses some greater challenges for older workers." Among other things, "older workers tend to stay unemployed longer, and those who regain employment generally sustain greater wage losses than do younger workers."

Without providing specifics, GAO recommended that, to foster the employment of older workers, the Secretary of Labor should consider what strategies are needed to address the unique needs of older job seekers, in light of recent economic and technological changes.

Labor agreed with our recommendation and noted a couple of its initiatives focused on the employment of older workers. Specifically, Labor cited its current evaluation of the Aging Worker Initiative demonstration project, which will assess the success of new interventions used by 10 local grantees to help connect aging workers with employment opportunities. In addition, Labor cited its sponsorship of the annual National Employ Older Workers Week that provides outreach opportunities for SCSEP grantees.

For an audio interview by GAO staff with Charles Jeszeck, Director, Education, Workforce & Income Security, go to GAO website.

Source: U.S. General Accountability Office Highlights (May 15, 2012)

United Kingdom: Study Finds Older Women Doing the Best in Recessionary Job Market

The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) has released a work audit report finding that older women have fared best as a group in the recession job market in the United Kingdom. The report--"Age, gender and the jobs recession"--states that women aged 50-64, and men and women aged 65 and over, are the only age groups to have registered an increase in both the number in work and employment rates since the start of the jobs recession and have also registered the smallest increases in unemployment.

Specifically, there are 271,000 (8%) more women aged 50-64 in the labour market than at the start of the recession and 200,000 (6.2%) more in work. Over all age groups, there are 387,000 fewer men in work (a net fall of 2.4%) than in the first quarter of 2008, while the number of women in work is only 8,000 (0.05%) lower.

The report also finds that, the older people get, the more likely it is that they will remain out of work for longer when unemployed, although long-term unemployment rates have increased more for younger than older people since the start of the jobs recession.

According to Dr John Philpott, Chief Economic Adviser at the CIPD:

While a combination of population ageing and fewer people wanting to retire early, either for financial reasons or because of a broader desire to prolong their working lives, is boosting the older workforce, it is older women that are getting most of the available jobs. Just why this is happening requires further examination, though with the modern generation of 50 something women more likely to view Madonna than Grandma Grey as a role model, the economically active older woman is well on course to be ever more prominent in British workplaces in the coming years.

However, the relatively good outcome for older women during the recession is no cause for complacency about the need to continually stress the business case for an even more age diverse workforce as the economy starts to recover, especially with so much public policy action understandably focused on cutting youth unemployment. Simplistic talk about older people staying in jobs at the expense of the young must not be allowed to put a brake on progress toward nudging employers to do even better in coping with demographic change. An ageing workforce presents both challenges and opportunities for employers, who at some point in the not too distant future will struggle to fill vacancies unless they recruit and retain older workers, women and men, in even far greater numbers.

Source: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development Press Release (April 18, 2012)

Demographics of Aging Workforce as Indicator of Slower Future Growth, Deeper Recessions

According to two economists, James Stock and Mark Watson, in the future, U.S. growth will be slower, recessions will be deeper, and recoveries will be weaker because of demographics--in particular because of the plateau in the female labor force participation rate, and the aging of the U.S. workforce. In the draft of their conference paper for the Brookings Panel on Economic Activity--"Disentangling the Channels of the 2007-2009 Recession," they write:

The main conclusion from this demographic work is that, barring a new increase in female labor force participation or a significant increase in the growth rate of the population, these demographic factors point towards a further decline in trend growth of employment and hours in the coming decades. Applying this demographic view to recessions and recoveries suggests that the future recessions with historically typical cyclical behavior will have steeper declines and slower recoveries in output and employment.

Derek Thompson, writing for The Atlantic, says that another way of looking at what Stock and Watson found is that "As 80 million Boomers move into retirement, a smaller share of our population will be working ... and a rising share will be seeking increasingly expensive medical attention from the workforce that is left over. That adds up to a less dynamic economy." Thompson does hope "that the transition to a service economy will allow older people to work longer than they have in the past," and also notes that there are low-hanging solutions to creating more working Americans, including changes in immigration policy, housing policy, and reducing costs of education and medicine.

Source: The Atlantic "Gray Nation: The Very Real Economic Dangers of an Aging America" (March 26, 2012)

Report: Older Workers Experiencing Disproportionately Longer Periods without Work

The National Employment Law Project (NELP) has issued an issue brief finding that prolonged spells of joblessness--of a year or more--have disproportionately affected older unemployed workers (those aged 50 years and older) throughout the recession and its aftermath. According to "Economy in Focus: Long Road Ahead for Older Unemployed Worker," the number of long-term unemployed older workers has more than quintupled, to 1.8 million in 2011, and, compared to other age groups, once older workers became unemployed, they were most likely to become long-term unemployed.

During 2011, more than half of older jobless workers were out of work for six months or more, and four in ten older unemployed workers were out of work for at least one year in 2011. While older workers were underrepresented among the unemployed (23.5%) relative to their share of the labor force in 2011 (31.5%), they were overrepresented among the long-term unemployed (29.2%) relative to their share of the unemployed. Even though older workers had the lowest average monthly unemployment rate in 2011 (6.7%), it is more than double their rate in 2007 (3.1%), and older workers experienced the greatest percentage increase in the size of their unemployed population--more than doubling from 1.3 million in 2007 to 3.2 million in 2011.

NELP concludes by recommending:

Policymakers are tasked with developing new ways to help older unemployed workers more quickly find their way back to good employment and financial self-sufficiency. This includes addressing the problem of discrimination against the unemployed. Federal legislation banning this practice is pending; state legislation modeled on this bill has been proposed in thirteen states. This also includes addressing the special training needs of older workers, who are more likely to require assistance aligning their skills with the needs of growing industries, and exploring targeted reemployment strategies

Sources: National Employment Law Project News Release (March 9, 2012); Huffington Post "Jobs Report: When Will Things Get Better For Older Workers Who've Lost Their Jobs?" (March 9, 2012)

Australia: Effect of Global Financial Crisis on Older Workers

According to researchers from National Seniors Australia's Productive Ageing Centre, older single women in poor health and on lower incomes were the worst hit of Baby Boomers ( 5.5 million people born between 1946 and 1965, with many of the eldest already retired) by the global financial crisis. In the report--"Ageing Baby Boomers in Australia: Understanding the effects of the global financial crisis," around half those still working said they had been affected by the crisis and would delay their retirement, compared with 27% who rated themselves financially secure.

The survey reported that, despite the widespread financial effects of the recession, only 24% of retirees affected by the crisis expected to return to work or increase the paid work they were already doing. This proportion was even lower for those who were not financially affected by the GFC (16%).

Workers most affected by the crisis are set to stay in paid employment longer than anticipated and appear to be contributing more to their superannuation plans than pre-GFC. Interestingly, working baby boomers affected by the crisis are more likely to withdraw superannuation funds earlier at the expense of tax bonuses.

Among the lessons for the future suggested in the report, employers and governments are told that they "need to concentrate on making workplaces more welcoming to older workers," and that "one of the best ways to do this is to reduce ageism in hiring practices and work cultures."

Source: National Seniors Media Release (March 5, 2012)

Despite U.S. Recession, More Workers over 55 Than Ever

An article in The Washington Post reviews Bureau of Labor Statistics data finding that although the recession has "thinned the ranks of other generations in the workforce, more people older than 55 are employed than ever before." Peter Whoriskey reports that while the "reasons for the surge of older workers are complex," experts point to "the growing fear among older Americans that they lack the means to support their retirement needs."

According to BLS data, those 55 and older in the workforce has risen by 3.1 million, or 12%, since the recession started. In addition, there are more people 75 years and older at work. This is not just absolute numbers: the percentage of those 55 and older at work has climbed from 38.9% to 40.3% during the recession.

Among other things noted are the shift from employers provided defined benefit plans to reliance on 401(k) plans, which increases the incentive to continue working in later years.

Source: The Washington Post "Amid downturn, more older Americans employed than ever before" (January 13, 2012)

GAO Issues Repot of Recession on Employment Status of Older Americans

According to a report issued by the General Accountability Office (GAO) looking at unemployment and the recession, once older workers lose their jobs they are less likely to find other employment, household income has fallen 6% for adults aged 55 to 64, but increased by 5% for adults 65 and older, and older adults continued to spend more on medical care than those in younger age groups.

Specifically, in "Income Security: Older Adults and the 2007-2009 Recession," the GAO found that "the median duration of unemployment for older workers rose sharply from 2007 to 2010, more than tripling for workers 65 and older and increasing to 31 weeks from 11 weeks for workers aged 55 to 64. In addition, the proportion of older part-time workers who indicated they would prefer full-time work nearly doubled during this time."

It also found that median household net worth fell during the recession for older adults. Poverty rates increased for adults aged 55 to 64, but declined for those 65 and older, while low incomes were more prevalent in older age groups than in younger ones.

Source: General Accountability Office Report Abstract: GAO-12-76 (October 17, 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.

Minnesota: A Look at Unemployment Among the 55 Plus

Writing for Minnesota Public Radio's Minnesota Economy blog, Paul Tosto has published charts from the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) showing that Minnesotans 55 and older have seen unemployment among their peers double since 2007. In addition to the raw numbers doubling, Tosto notes that unemployment rates that were averaging just 1.8% in 2005 for those 55 to 64 rose to 6.1% in 2010.

Separately, Tosto has published a table from DEED showing the industries with the most 55+ workers, with mining leading the way with 27.4% of the workforce 55 and older, followed by educational services with 26.2%. Of workers 65 and over, "other services" led with 5.9% of its workforce of that age, followed by the transportation and warehousing industry and the real estate industry at 5.7% each.

Sources: MinnEcon "55+ unemployment doubled since Great Recession" (May 2, 2011); "Where do age 55+ Minnesotans work?" (May 3, 2011)

Canada: Study Finds that Economic Pressures Cause Many Older Workers To Retire Early

A study published by the Institute for Research on Public Policy (IRPP) finds that older workers who face sudden layoff rarely match their previous earnings upon reemployment, that their earnings tend to stagnate in subsequent years, and that the situation drives many to retire early. According to "Labour Force Participation of Older Displaced Workers in Canada: Should I Stay or Should I Go?", IRPP Study No. 15, written by Ross Finnie and David Gray, such hastened retirement will further slow labor force growth, which is already beginning to wane due to population aging, thus reducing economic growth and putting additional stress on public and private pension plans.

Finnie and Gray report that, among those aged 45 to 59 (who are not eligible for Canada Pension Plan benefits), about one-quarter have "retired" within five years after being layed off, in the sense that they rely on pensions as their primary source of income. This proportion rises to nearly 70% in the 60 to 64 age group.

The authors lay out four policy options to address the question of whether older displaced workers should retire early (by choice or by force) or continue to work:

1. Encouraging older displaced workers to retire early, aided by government subsidy, which amounts to very long-term income maintenance until they reach normal retirement age.
2. Providing passive employment insurance benefits.
3. Providing active employment insurance benefits.
4. Providing wage insurance.

IRPP also has available online an interview with the authors.

Source: Institute for Research on Public Policy Press Release (February 24, 2011)

EBRI Research Finds Participation Rates for Workers Over 55 Increased During Recession

According to research by Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI), labor force participation rate continued to increase for workers 55 and older even after the economic downturn of 2008–2009. The article "Labor-Force Participation Rates of the Population Age 55 and Older: What Did the Recession Do to the Trends" by Craig Copeland, published in the February 2011 issue of EBRI Notes, notes that for those ages 55–64, the increase is almost entirely due to an increase in women in the work force, but that for those age 65 and older, labor-force participation increased for both males and females.

Education is a strong factor in an individual’s participation in the labor force at older ages: Individuals with higher levels of education are significantly more likely to be in the labor force than those with the lower levels of education. This disparity increased from 1987–2009 for those without a high school diploma, as their rate declined while those with higher levels of education had a participation rate that stayed the same or increased.

This trend is likely to continue because of workers’ need for access to employment-based health insurance and for more earning years to accumulate assets in 401(k)-type plans, particularly after the stock market and economy downturn in 2008.

Source: Employee Benefit Research Institute Press Release (February 17, 2011)

Paper Reports on How 50+ Workers Fared in 2010

According to a study released by the Urban Institute, unemployment rates remained high for the 47.5 million workers age 50 and older in 2010, and more than half of unemployed workers this age were out of work for more than six months and nearly a third were out of work for more than a year. "How Did 50+ Workers Fare in 2010?"--authored by Richard W. Johnson and Janice Park--also showed that workers age 50 to 61 have fared worse than those age 62 and older since the Great Recession began in December 2007.

In 2010, 2.0 million men age 50 and older were unemployed. Unemployment crept up for all men in 2010 but generally increased more for older workers than younger workers.

• The unemployment rate for men age 50 to 61 increased to 8.3 percent from 7.8 percent in 2009 and 3.2 percent in 2007.
  
• The rate for men age 62 and older increased to 7.3 percent from 6.6 percent in 2009 and 3.3 percent in 2007.
  
• Unemployment did not increase for men age 25 to 49.

Older men with limited education—especially those younger than 62—were much more likely to be unemployed than college graduates. For example, the rate at age 50 to 61 for college graduates was 5.2 percent, compared with 10.1 percent for high school graduates and 14.2 percent for those who did not complete high school.

Source: Urban Institute Summary (February 1, 2011)

EBRI Reports More U.S. Households At Risk of Running Short of Retirement Income

Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) has published an analysis showing that, depending largely on age and income, between 4% and 14% of Americans who otherwise would have had adequate income to cover basic expenses in retirement became "at risk" of running short because of the housing and financial crisis of 2008–2009. EBRI's Issue Brief "A Post-Crisis Assessment of Retirement Income Adequacy for Baby Boomers and Gen Xers" was designed to find out (1) what percentage of U.S. households became at risk and (2) of those who are at risk, what additional savings do they need to make each year until retirement age to make up for their losses from the crisis?

The EBRI report also provides additional percentages of compensation that various types of households will need to save each year until retirement age to have a 50%, 70%, or 90% probability of having sufficient retirement income to meet basic retirement expenditures and any uninsured health care costs for their full retirement. For example, the median percentage of additional compensation for Early Boomers wanting a 50% probability of retirement income adequacy are 3.0% of compensation each year until retirement age, to account for the financial and housing market crisis in 2008–2009.

Source: Employee Benefit Research Institute Press Release (January 20, 2011)

Research FInds 55 Plus Workers Remain Unemployed Longer than Younger Workers

New research from Boston College’s Sloan Center on Aging & Work and the Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers University shows that older job seekers often face daunting challenges in finding employment compared to younger workers. Specifically, according to "The “New Unemployables” -- Older Job Seekers Struggle to Find Work During the Great Recession", co-authored by Maria Heidkamp, Carl Van Horn and Nicole Corre, among job seekers unemployed during the recent recession, adults aged 55+ are finding it increasingly difficult to land a job and are more likely to remain out of work longer than younger job seekers.

Among other findings:

• 84% of older workers followed who were unemployed in August 2009 were still unemployed in March 2010, and 67% of older job seekers included in the survey reported looking for work longer than a year;
  
• 12% of the older workers surveyed had taken new education or training courses in the past year, compared to 20% of younger job seekers;
  
• 13% of older job seekers had used online social networking sites, compared to 28% of younger job seekers;
  
• 64% of older job seekers rated the job search tools they were using as not helpful, compared to 49% of younger job seekers.

Sources Sloan Center on Aging & Work News (November 16, 2010); New York Times Economix Blog "Older Job-Seekers More Willing to Take a Pay Cut" (November 17, 2010)

EEOC Hears Testimony on Impact of Recession and Age Discrimination on Older Worrkers

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) held a meeting at which various experts testified that age discrimination is causing the nation’s older workers to have a difficult time maintaining and finding new employment, a problem exacerbated by the downturn in the economy. The hearing was conducted at a time in which the number and percentage of age discrimination charges filed with the EEOC have grown, rising from 16,548 charges--21.8% of all charges--filed in fiscal year 2006, to 22,778--24.4% of all charges--in fiscal year 2009.

In the leadoff testimony, Dr. William Spriggs, Assistant Secretary for Policy, U.S. Department of Labor, testified that the rate of unemployment for people age 55 and over "rose from a pre-recession low of 3.0 percent (November 2007) to reach 7.3% in August, 2010, making the past 22 months the longest spell of high unemployment workers in this age group have experienced in 60 years." Older workers also spend far more time searching for work and are jobless for far longer periods of time compared to workers under 55.

In addition, the EEOC heard testimony on legal issues from Mary Anne Sedey, Partner, Sedey Harper P.C., Michael Foreman, Clinical Professor, Pennsylvania State University, Dickinson School of Law, and R. Scott Oswald, Principal, The Employment Law Group. This was followed by testimony on employer best practices from Deborah Russell, Director, Workforce Issues, American Association of Retired Persons and Cornelia Gamlem, President, GEMS Group and Society for Human Resource Management. Among other things, Gamlem highlighted strategies to create discrimination-free workplaces that recognize the value of older workers; programs, such as flexible work arrangements, that enable employees to work longer if they choose to do so; and ways to implement reductions-in-force to avoid inadvertent age-based discrimination.

"Hard working men and women should never be harassed at work or forced out of their jobs on account of their age,” said EEOC Chair Jacqueline A. Berrien. “The testimony we heard today also sheds light on some of the unique challenges faced by older job seekers and will be invaluable as the Commission works to strengthen its enforcement of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act."

"The treatment of older workers is a matter of grave concern for the Commission,” said EEOC Commissioner Stuart J. Ishimaru. “We must be vigilant that employers do not use the current economy as an excuse for discrimination against older workers.'

Source: U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Press Release (November 17, 2010)

Ireland: Older Workers Faring Better in Recession in Both North and South

According to the Centre for Ageing Research and Development in Ireland (CARDI), older people are better represented in the workforce in Ireland, North and South, than in the past and have been less affected by unemployment during the recession than their younger counterparts. This information was presented at a seminar on "Living Longer, Working Longer" at which CARDI also explored issues such as the impact of an aging population on Ireland’s workforce, North and South; the reasons why some people retire early and others continue working; and the urgent need for research on older people’s experiences in the workforce in light of the fact that the retirement age is set to rise.

On the statistical front, the number of workers aged 55 or older rose by 73% in the Republic of Ireland between 1998 and 2008 (up 120,000) and by 50% in Northern Ireland (up 35,000). In particular, older women have benefited, with the female labour force participation rate at age 55-59 jumping in the Republic of Ireland by a full 20 percentage points, from 30% to 50%, and for women aged 60-64 increasing from 17% to 33%.

“The pension age in both the Republic of Ireland will rise to 66 in 2014 and Northern Ireland in 2016 and later to 68,” said [Paul McGill, Strategic Research Officer with CARDI]. “At the same time, the numbers of older people in Ireland as a whole are steadily increasing: by 2041, it is estimated there will be 1.89 million people aged 65 and over. In light of this, government and employers need to make provisions now to accommodate older workers."

CARDI cited a number of reasons why older people are better represented in Northern Ireland’s current workforce than they were in the past, including:

• employers having greater difficulty offering pension top-ups to encourage early retirement;
• the outlawing of discrimination against older workers is beginning to have an effect;
• older people may have been worried by increases in food and fuel prices during the economic boom and, as a result, decided to hold on to their jobs for longer; and
• Poor private pension provision.

Source: Centre for Ageing Research and Development in Ireland News (November 10, 2010)

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)