Labor Department Solicits Grant Applications for Senior Community Service Employment

The Employment and Training Administration of the U.S. Department of Labor has published a notice of availability of funds and solicitation for grant applications for the national grants portion of the Senior Community Service Employment Program. $341 million is being made available for projects that will promote part-time work-based training opportunities in local communities for unemployed, low-income individuals who are age 55 and over, and will foster increased prospects for their economic self-sufficiency. SCSEP is the only nationwide Federal program that focuses on training and placing older individuals into community work-based training and unsubsidized employment.

DOL is especially interested in organizations that demonstrate a partnership with local One-Stop Career Centers and community colleges and that promote employment through high growth job opportunities. Applicants are required to apply for contiguous locations within a state.

The closing date for receipt of applications is April 17, 2006. Full details are available on the DOL website.

Source: Summary Federal Register (March 2, 2006)

U.S. Labor Secretary Opens SAVER Summit To Develop Strategies for Enhancing Retirement Security

The U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao opened the 2006 SAVER Summit by challenging delegates to develop strategies for enhancing retirement security. The Summit is to address obstacles to savings faced by four groups-—new labor market entrants, low-income wage earners, small business employers and their employees, and workers nearing retirement.

Chao's address focused on President Bush’s agenda on pension reform and the Administration’s commitment to work with Congress to pass pension reform legislation that "strengthens the funding of pension plans, provides transparency of information for workers, and stabilizes the federal pension insurance system." Secretary Chao also stressed the importance of access to professional investment advice to improve the choice, control and confidence workers have in their retirement saving plans.

Source: News Release U.S. Department of Labor (March 1, 2006)

United Kingdom: London Assembly Reports On Improving Working Environment for Over-50's

The London Assembly has issued a report finding that the city is the worst place in England to look for a job if you are over 50 years of age. According to the report from the Assembly’s Economic Development, Culture, Sport and Tourism Committee--“UB50?: Access to the labour market for people over 50 in London", inner London has the highest rate of unemployment amongst people over 50 in the whole of the country--twice the national average, and more than 20% of London’s unemployed are over 50. In addition, the report says that recent research found that one in five managers and personnel officers admitted to discriminating against workers on the grounds of age.

While the Assembly welcomes the coming age discrimination protection laws in Britain, it said more neded to be one to help older Londoners. It recommended that:

• there needs to be a coordinated and integrated approach to employment services for older people in London, within an over-arching strategy,
• more accurate research is needed to establish the numbers of older people looking for work, to ensure that the support services for older people receive the funding levels they require, and
• the London Learning and Skills Councils need to prioritise people over 50 for education and training support.

Source: News Release London Assembly (February 28, 2006)

Aging Workforce Driving Businesses To Focus on Human Capital Management

The imminent retiring of an aging workforce and the lack of experienced managers to replace them has led corporate universities to transform their operations to attract, retain and excite the best talent. An article by Jeanne C. Meister in Chief Learning Officer examines how and if corporate universities are offering the right learning to create the business results senior executives demand. She points out that the demographic combination as created a "looming talent management crisis, where an enterprise-wide view of human capital management is more important than ever. But more than anything else, CEOs are starting to see a connection between human capital management and improved workforce performance and productivity. This expanded mission of human capital management is now part of the agenda for corporate universities, and many are reinventing themselves in order to deliver the necessary business outcomes."

Source: "Corporate Universities: What Works and What Doesn’t" Chief Learning Officer (March 2006)

Employers Extending Flexibiliy to Working Snowbirds

Striking a similar theme to a Christian Science Monitor article, Jenn Abelson reports in the Boston Globe about employers, such as CVS, Borders, and Home Depot, that fear labor shortages as baby boomers age and allow workers to transfer to stores in warmer regions during winter. While the snowbird perk is usually available to all employees, it is mainly aimed at older workers. In fact, she reports that CVS has specifically "tried to attract older workers by tapping into senior centers to recruit staff and accommodating employees who have time-shares and second homes."

In addition, to the two-location workers, Ableson notes that employers, such as Bright Horizons, that are already used to offering flexible work environments for employees with young families are finding that older workers are now desiring them, too. Over the past five years, the number of Bright Horizons workers age 55 years and older jumped 81% to 1,054 from 583,and the company says it's willing to accommodate people, even if they want to work from home in warmer locations. Hoffer Serpa, a Bright Horizons spokeswoman, is quoted as saying: "There's a shift that recognized the fact that people without children have their own desires and needs for flexibility, whether it's caring for older parents or changing the place they live....It's easier to retain people than train people and so we want to help support people in every part of their life."

Source: "Snowbirds at work" The Boston Globe (March 1, 2006)

MetLife Survey Finds Employers and Employees Concerned About Aging Workforce, but Not Addressing It

According to the 2005/2006 MetLife Employee Benefits Trend Study, 34% of all employers (and 46% with 25,000 or more workers) agree that the aging workforce will have a significant impact on their company, yet 79% have not taken any steps to accommodate older workers. At the same time, 33% of Baby Boomers have not yet determined when they plan to retire from work, and 58% of young Boomers (age 41-50) are worried that they will have to work either full- or part-time to live comfortably during retirement and 61% say that "outliving retirement money" is their number one retirement-related fear.

"Employers that make a long-term commitment to accommodate their older workers – not just through the physical environment or flexible work schedules, but by providing access to critical employee benefits that can protect an individual throughout their lifetime – will reap the benefits. Many older workers feel a strong sense of loyalty to their companies and expect the same in return. At a time when Baby Boomers are nearing retirement – and increased longevity is enabling many of them to work productively well into their 70s and 80s – older workers may prove to be the solution to the impending talent shortage. It’s crucial for companies to identify a strategy for retaining trained, experienced workers and keeping them satisfied and engaged," notes [Maria R.] Morris [, executive vice president, Institutional Business].

Source: Press Release MetLife (February 28, 2006)

Oil and Gas Industry: Seeking Solutions to Aging Workforce

Various industry and governmental officials at a workforce panel in Midland, Texas, said that while changing demographics and an aging workforce in the oilfields present a daunting challenge to the energy sector, the challenge isn’t insurmountable. According to an article by Bill Modisett in the Odessa American, most of the panelists were looking towards providing a coordinated message in recruiting younger people to work in the industry, particularly at the high school and university level. "Statistics cited during the forum showed many workers in the industry will be retiring in 10 to 15 years, yet a nationwide study showed the number of students graduated with bachelor’s degrees in petroleum engineering is down by 78%."

Source: "Oil industry faces workforce challenges" Odessa American (February 24, 2006)

County Governments To Be Hard Hit by Aging Workforce

Two articles speak to the financial dilemmas facing county governments in the comng years as their workforces age. In Ocean City Today, Christine Cullen writes that while unfunded retirement benefits ended years ago for private employers, only now is the Governmental Accounting Standards Board requiring local governments to fund post-retirement insurance costs during the tenure of the employee. Thus, governments will have to set aside millions of dollars in segregated funds to cover the liability. Thus, for example, while Ocean City, Maryland, paid approximately $200,000 in retiree health benefits in 2003, and in 2005 the county paid close to $2 million, when the new system is in place, the city will pay $2 million annually, while the county would have to come up with $14 million, or nearly eight times the current amount.

Simiilarly, Bill Turque writes in The Washington Post about the job losses governments are facing. "Montgomery County estimates that 50% of its senior managers will be eligible for retirement by 2010. By next year, more than 70% of Fairfax's top officials will be able to leave and collect benefits." His story points out differences fro for public sector managers. For example, while private corporations have long used "succession planning" as a tool to groom executive talent, civil service regulations place sharp restrictions on designating heirs apparent. In addition, not only is the post-baby boom workforce smaller, but it also tends to hold government service in lower esteem than those who came of age in the 1960s and 1970s.

Source: "Health benefit costs could hit hard for governments" Ocean City Today (February 24, 2006)

Source: "Graying of Workforce Troubles County Governments"The Washington Post (February 26, 2006)

Technology Looking to Older Workers To Fill Job Gaps

Following up on the announcement that the Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) has joined the new Alliance for an Experienced Workforce aimed at getting employers to develop strategies of keeping aging American workers viable in the workplace, Marianne Kolbasuk McGee writes in Information Week that within the next four years, "nearly a third of all U.S. workers--including tens of thousands of tech pros--will be over the age of 50, leaving a potential gap of business-tech and vertical industry skills, which also could be worsened on the front-end by a shortage of young people entering the technology fields."

She writes that John Venator, president and CEO of the CompTIA, is encouraging employers to offer older IT workers programs, such as skills certification and training opportunities, to help them acquire new tech skills, boosting their workforce relevance in the years to come. She also cites Quest Diagnostics Inc. as an employer that is already offering work options that older technology workers often find appealing, including telecommuting options, as well as the opportunity to relocate jobs to Quest offices in more favorable climates, like in southern U.S cities.

Source: "Careers: Keeping Older Tech Workers On The Job Longer" InformationWeek (February 23, 2006)

Australia: Jobsharing Offered as Solution for Aging Workforce

A report issued by the Hudson consulting firm suggests that, with Australia’s current skills shortage and the rapid emergence of an ageing workforce, flexible working solutions such as jobsharing will be key to attracting and retaining employees. According to their research, an overwhelming 88% of employers providing a jobshare program believe it has improved their ability to attract and retain employees. Key findings from the report show that:

• Only 40% of Australian employers currently provide a jobshare program to staff;
• 52% of employers and 73% of job seekers surveyed would consider jobsharing as a work option, now or in the future;
• 72% of those employers who would not consider jobsharing believed their role wouldn’t be suitable for sharing; 20% did not know how jobsharing could be applied in their personal circumstance; 8% said they have seen jobsharing poorly implemented in the past

According to Vilma Faoro, National Practice Leader for Hudson JobShare, “[i]t is critical for employers to embrace flexible work options in order to attract and retain talent from a broader talent pool, such as return-to-work parents and mature-age workers transitioning into retirement."

Source: News Release Hudson (February 22, 2006)

Seventh Circuit Allows EEOC To Proceed with Age Bias Claims Against Law Firm

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit has ruled that the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has authority to obtain monetary relief for partners expelled from the law firm of Sidley Austin because of their age. In EEOC v. Sidley Austin, 7th Cir. No. 06-8002, the court held that the EEOC may obtain monetary relief in the case as well as injunctions and that, despite Sidley Austin's claims, there was no bar because the EEOC's "enforcement authority is not derivative of the legal rights of individuals even when it is seeking to make them whole."

Source: News Release U.S. EEOC (February 17, 2006)

United Kingdom: Employers Interested, But Employees Want To Retire

Georgina Fuller reports in Personnel Today that a new survey conducted by Manpower shows that 52% of surveyed employes want to employ staff beyond the age of 65, but 81% of surveyed staff said they would not want to continue working into their late 60s. In addition, 70% of employers said they would offer flexible working in the next 10 years, but just 63% of workers expected to work flexible hours in the future.

Source: "Employers see older workers as answer to skills shortages" Personneltoday.com (February 23, 2006)

Alliance for an Experienced Workforce Launched

The AARP and over 20 major industry associations and membership organizations have joined forces to create and launch the Alliance for an Experienced Workforce in order to promote solution-based strategies for recruiting and retaining 50-plus workers and plan for the demographic challenges that face this country in the years ahead.

"Our research shows retaining an experienced workforce is smart business," said AARP CEO Bill Novelli, who serves as Vice Chair of the Alliance. "That’s why all of these industry leaders are coming together to share strategies on how to recruit and retain the boomer workforce."

Because of the demographic shift expected by the retirement of the baby boom generation, many employers are planning now to retain a competitive advantage as the labor market tightens. The Alliance will cultivate industry-specific 50+ worker best practices on issues including benefits, workplace design, and recruitment strategies.

AARP hopes for the Alliance to serve as a catalyst for bringing government, employers and employees together to help and encourage workers to stay on the job.

Source: Press Release AARP (February 22, 2006)

Other Sources: Press Release Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) (February 22, 2006)

Canada: New Statistics Relating Aging, Health and Work

Using data from the 2003 Canadian Community Health Survey, Statistics Canada has released a study showing that while the people in Canada's labour force who were within 10 years of retirement in 2003 were generally in good or excellent physical and mental health, nearly half a million (19%) individuals aged between 50 and 69 had already left the labour force because of health-related reasons. Individuals not working because of ill health rated their physical and mental health as fair to poor, with chronic conditions such as arthritis and rheumatism, high blood pressure and back problems being common concerns.

Their loss is important because of rising concerns over a labour shortage in coming years as the baby-boom generation nears retirement and the growth in Canada's population slows. In 2002, 20% of workers were within 10 years of the median retirement age, double the proportion 15 years earlier.

Source: The Daily Statistics Canada (February 22, 2006)

Wisconsin Issues Workforce Report on Generational Motivation

In an article for the La Crosse Tribune, Steve Cahalan writes that a new report shows that Wisconsin area employers need to be aware of differences between the four generations i the workplace and find ways to motivate them. The 2005 State of the Workforce Report was released by the Western Wisconsin Workforce Development Board following a survey of 1,570 employees in late 2005. "Members of Generations X and Y tend to be more motivated by flexible hours, co-workers, training opportunities and promotional opportunities, according to the report. Baby boomers and traditionalists tend to be motivated by wages and benefits, it said."

Employees’ retirement plans include working part time for interest or fun, working part time for income, starting their own business or volunteering, the report said. A majority of employees would like to retire by age 55 but do not think they will be financially able to retire until after age 65, it said.

According to the report, labor shortages are expected to occur as baby boomers retire. These workforce challenges will begin about 2008 and peak in 2020.

Source: "Report: Various generations are motivated by different factors at work" La Crosse Tribune (February 21, 2006)

Retirement at 85? Anti-Aging Treatments Might Lead to Demographic Problems

A panel of experts discussed the future of the human life span at a news briefing at the 2006 American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Annual Meeting and, among other things, examined the potential demographic and economic effects which such life-extension measures could have. Assuming anti-aging therapies could increase life expectancy in the near future, Stanford biologist Dr. Shripad Tuljapurkar created a model examining the demographic and economic effects. "Given a 20-year increase in life expectancy between 2010 and 2030 due to anti-aging therapy--which the panel scientists consider a “moderate” estimate--the model predicts that there will be twice as many American retirees relative to working people. Thus, the dependency ratio would double, as would the cost of Social Security and Medicare. In order to compensate, Tuljapurkar estimates, the retirement age would have to climb to 85."

Source: News Archive American Association for the Advancement of Science (February 18, 2006)

United Kingdom: Employers Respond to Pensions Report

The CBI has unveiled British employers' response to Lord Turner's Pensions Commission recommendations and has proposed to help tackle the UK's emerging pensions crisis without compelling business to contribute to staff pension schemes. CBI argues, in its submission to the Government, that auto-enrolment without compulsion is the best way of increasing pensions saving without undermining existing provision.

The CBI argues that forcing companies into compulsory pensions contributions would put hard-pressed firms, especially smaller ones, under great economic pressure and significantly raise labour costs while failing to boost savings levels overall. Instead, it proposes a Pension Builder plan to boost employee pension contributions, combined with additional support for smaller businesses--either a Partnership Pension in which government matches employer contributions, or a Pension Tax Credit.

Source: Press Release CBI (February 20, 2006)

Community College Uses Bond Issue To Secure Retiree Benefits

Writing for the Hayward, California The Daily Review, Michelle Maitre reports that Oakland's Peralta Community College District is the first in the nation to float a bond issue to cover the ever-increasing cost of retiree health benefits. "Like many districts, Peralta had promised to pay retiree health benefits for life," but funded those benefits on a "pay-as-you-go" basis. However, an aging workforce and rising health care costs are increasingly making that plan untenable.

The bond money has been placed in an irrevocable trust that can be used for only two purposes: paying retiree medical benefits and retiring the bond debt. Peralta Chief Financial Officer Thomas Smith anticipates a 6% annual return over the 45-year term of the bond, enough to finance retiree health benefits and enable the district to repay its debt.

Source: "Peralta innovates funding of benefits" The Daily Review (February 20, 2006)

Australia: Prime Minister Calls for Workers To Delay Retirement

Older Australians need to stay in the workforce, but bosses and employees may have to compromise on hours of work and pay, Prime Minister John Howard says. Addressing an employer group at "The Workforce Tomorrow Industry Breakfast," Howard said that "[t]he bad news is that we are all getting older and as a population Australia is ageing. We are living longer in a healthier fashion and we are therefore facing a significant demographic challenge" and that far too many of the people between 55 and 65 leave the workforce far too early.

Howard said mature workers might find themselves reporting to much younger bosses or having to accept a rearrangement of remuneration structures. In addition, they should be prepared to sign up to part-time work, and people currently out of the workforce on disability pensions needed to be enticed back to work.

According to the Australian Associated Press article on the speech, opposition workforce participation spokeswoman Penny Wong said Mr Howard was acknowledging his government was presiding over a major skills crisis. "But you can't just talk about getting jobs for mature workers and people with a disability--you actually need to invest in their skills so they have the skills an employer needs," she said. "The best way the Howard government can encourage employers to hire jobless Australians is by making sure jobless Australians are ready for work.

Source: "Howard says more older workers needed" Sydney Morning Herald (February 20, 2006)

China: Aging Population and Pension Crisis

Deutsche Bank Research has released a report indicating that China's pension system is facing a demographic time bomb--the consequence of the one-child policy--that could seriously damage its future economic prospects. According to the report ("China’s pension system
Caught between mounting legacies and unfavourable
demographics"), "China is greying fast but at a very low income level. Low effective retirement ages will see the working age population already reaching its peak between now and 2010 and will lift the old-age dependency ratio much higher than conventionally thought." Accordingly, China is getting the demographic profile of an advanced industrial country with a mature welfare system, but with an economy still clambering out of developing status.

Source: "Deutsche Bank: China pensions face crisis" United Press International (February 17, 2006)

Illinois Governor's Budget Proposal To Respond to Aging Nursing Workforce

In his operating budget plan for Fiscal Year 2007, Illinois Governor Rod R. Blagojevich included a series of proposals to to address the shortage of nurses-–expected to grow to 21,000 by 2020 in Illinois--spurred by an aging workforce and increased demand for nurses as baby boomers grow older. Among other things, Governor Blagojevich proposes to:

• Develop the Center for Nursing to develope a strategic plan for nursing manpower in Illinois, maintaining a database on nursing supply and demand, and creating nursing retention and recruitment initiatives;
• offer nursing educator scholarships;<;i>offer grants to nursing schools to help increase the number of faculty;
• make changes to existing nursing scholarship program to allow consideration of merit;
• create student loan repayment program for nurse educators.

The budget message follows up on an earlier announcement by the Governor of his plan of heading off the an anticipated severe shortage of nurses resulting from an aging nursing workforce.

Source: Press Relase Illinois Government (February 15, 2006)

Oil and Gas Industry Being Hit by Aging Workforce

In an article for Dow Jones Newswires, Angel Gonzalez reports that oil and gas companies planning to boost output are nearing a wall: "Nearly half of the aging workforce engaged in exploration and production activities will retire in less than a decade." Thus, their current ambitious projects could come in late and over budget "unless they can hire, and retain, enough people to staff them."

Since oil prices peaked in real terms in 1981, major oil and gas companies have laid off nearly 1.1 million employees, according to energy consultancy John S. Herold. This drove a whole generation of technicians and managers into other industries and discouraged students from entering the field.

Now hard-pressed to increase production and replace dwindling reserves, companies are paying for their old sins. A "very small pool" of talent is "being spread really thin," said Claire Markwardt, a Houston-based partner with Accenture, a consultancy. The amount of talent in the pipeline is paltry, she added. Enrollment in U.S. petroleum engineering programs in 2004 was 2,500, down from 12,000 in 1982.

Also, as many as 40% of U.S. petroleum engineers currently employed will retire before 2014, [Alex} Preston [, head of The Energists, a Houston-based energy recruiting firm] said. The average age of a petroleum engineer, who advises on the best way to develop hydrocarbon reservoirs, is 49 years.

Source: "Experienced Oil And Gas Hands Become A Scarce Commodity" Cattle Network (February 14, 2006)

Phillipines: IT Resource To Replace Aging Japanese?

Japan External Trade Organization expert and chief executive officer of Chinasoft-Tokyo Co. Atsuo Miyazaki is reported in Cebus's Sun Star as saying that Japan’s aging society and shortage of engineers are among the factors that limit the country’s capacity to meet the demand for information technology (IT) services and that Japan "has to face the challenge and go for global sourcing to improve its productivity and enhance its pool of skilled IT engineers."

Accordingly, IT engineers and software companies in the Philippines can take advantage of Japan’s aging population and cater to the Japanese market through offshore development business. The Philippines, he said, has the advantage of having a “bright, flexible and faithful” workforce.

Source: "Filipinos can ‘exploit’ Japan’s aging IT labor" Cebu Sun Star (February 15, 2006)

OECD Issues Summary Report on Aging and Employment Policies

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has issued a report--"Live Longer, Work Longer"--that draws out the main lessons that have emerged from the OECD's 21 country reviews in its series on "Ageing and Employment Policies." To help meet the daunting challenges posed by employment and social policies, practices and attitudes that discourage work at an older age, work needs to be made a more attractive and rewarding proposition for older workers. This report disucsses, among other things, work disincentives and barriers to employment, removing work disincentives and increasing choice in work-retirement decisions, changing employer attitudes and employment practices, and improving employability.

Source: News Release OECD (February 13, 2006)

Drake International's Acquisition of Prime50 To Support Mature Workers

Drake International has announced that Prime50, a provider of employment for Canadians over age 50, has become a part of the Drake group of companies. According to Karen Meredith, President of Drake North America, "With Prime50, Drake's ability to link the mature workforce to organizations looking for those valuable skills and experience will be greatly enhanced" "As our population ages, employers face a shortage of skilled workers, while many workers want the opportunity to continue on in rewarding employment that makes use of their talents and experience," Ms. Meredith said. The Prime50 web site provides a job board with job postings by employers, as well as an opportunity for the aged 50+ job seeker to register and post their resume.

Source: News Release Prime50.com (January 31, 2006)

Staffing Firms Merger Cites Aging Workforce as Driving Force

ZeroChaos, which provides contingent labor management solutions for Fortune 1000 firms, in announcing its acquisition of FlexCorp Systems, a provider of strategic contractor payrolling and staffing solutions to large companies, cited the changing demographics of an aging workforce as crucial to the future needs of its clients:

"In the next four years, nearly 40% of the professional workforce will become retirement eligible," said ZeroChaos CEO Harold Mills. "For large corporations, this aging workforce is creating significant workforce planning concerns. For the employees, the definition of retirement no longer includes fishing or golfing full-time. Companies need the talent and the employees want to work, albeit on their own terms."

FlexCorp Systems founders Irene Cohen and Rick Miners will remain headquartered in New York and specifically focus on helping companies develop their "alumni talent pools", about which the two have authored many articles and books, including Don't Retire, Re-Wire, co-authored by Rick Miners and Jeri Sedlar.

Source: PR Newswire (February 6, 2006)

United Kingdom: Pension Secretary Predicts Rise in Pension Age

According to BBC, the Work and Pensions Secretary John Hutton told a conference organized by the The Work Foundation that some increase in the state pension age from 2020 is "inevitable."

Mr Hutton acknowledged that raising the state pension age was "a fairly blunt tool for changing effective retirement ages".

But he added: "If we aren't prepared to consider the option of raising the state pension age, we will simply pass an even greater burden onto our children."

Source: "Pension age 'set to rise' in 2020" BBC News (February 7, 2006)

Duke Energy Charged with Age Discrimination or 1997 Pension Changes

Mike Drummond reports in The Charlotte Observor that six former and current employees of Duke Energy have filed a lawsuit charging that the company committed age discrimination and violated pension laws when it changed its retirement plan in the late 1990s. Seeking class action status, the plaintiffs claim that as the result of converting the pension plan to a cash balance plan unfairly harmed older workers in violation of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act.

Source: "Duke sued over pension" Charlotte Observer (February 9, 2006)

Companies Providing Two-Location Jobs for Snowbirds

A number of retailers and healthcare providers are implementing snowbird programs, which lets employees shuttle between two locations on a seasonal basis. Thus, as Marilyn Gardner reports in The Christian Science Monitor, for six months of the year, John Johns works as a CVS pharmacist in Sea Isle City, N.J., but every November, he bids his goodbyes and heads to Cocoa Beach, Fla., where, three days a week, he logs 30 hours a week at CVS pharmacies in the area.

In the early 1990s, less than 7 percent of CVS workers were over age 50. By 2005 that figure had risen to 17 percent. "Some need to work," [Steve Wing, director of government programs for CVS,] says. "Some just need to be surrounded by other people."

The company's snowbirds are not entry-level employees. "We're not just using them to pull in carts," Wing says. They include greeting-card specialists, cosmetic consultants, photo supervisors, and managers.

Not all employees who head south for the winter want to work. "Sometimes they just need three or four months off," Wing says. "They can go to Florida, and then we'll rehire them."

Source: "Snowbirds work where it's warm" Christian Science Monitor (February 8, 2008)

Singapore: Companies Commit to Reemploy Retired Workers

Dominique Loh reports for Channel NewsAsia that Singapore's labour movement has signed on 23 companies that have committed to re-employ workers after they retire at 62. In addition, as part of the $30 million effort that the Tripartite Committee on Employability of Older Workers and the Singapore Workforce Development Agency have called the ADVANTAGE! Scheme, the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) is getting more companies to adjust their work environments, so they can also accommodate older workers.

Some companies say hiring older workers hinge on several factors like work attitude, past performances and the medical and physical well-being of these workers. But NTUC's Secretary-General Lim Boon Heng noted there are other challenges ahead. He said the labour problem for Singapore was even more acute when it comes to women, because they leave the workforce when they start a family to raise children. And as women grow older, the percentage of those who remain in the workforce also drops significantly, and bearing in mind most women also live longer than men. Mr Lim said one way to combat this problem was finding part-time jobs that women can fulfil in the workforce.

Source: " 23 companies pledge to re-employ older workers" Channelnewsasia.com (February 7, 2006)

California: Nevada County and Cities Faces Exodus of Older Civil Servants

Brittany Retherford reports in The Union that Nevada City, California, could lose half of its full-time workers to retirement by 2010, that Grass Valley could see 30% retire by 2008, and that Nevada County, the largest employer in the area, stands to lose the most, as 50% of its nearly 1,000 employees were already eligible to retire by the end of 2005. According to Gayle Satchwell, the county’s human resource director, the county has been preparing for the past two years, readying employees with skills to ease into possible promotions and encouraging longtime employees nearing retirement to store their knowledge in manuals and computer programs to be able to be passed down after their departure.

Source: "County work force ages" The Union (February 7, 2006)

Singapore: ADVANTAGE! Scheme Introduced to Provide Incentives for Employers to Hire Older Workers

Singapore's Tripartite Committee on Employability of Older Workers has released its interim report with a range of recommendations to enhance the employability of older workers. The key recommendations are to introduce the "ADVANTAGE! Scheme," consider legislation for the re-employment of workers beyond the statutory retirement age of 62 and set up a Tripartite Alliance for Fair Employment Practices.

Under ADVANTAGE!, up to $300,000 may be given per company to motivate and enable employers to recruit older workers and to re-employ them beyond age 62 through:

1. Job Redesign, such as to defray the cost of equipment, machinery or process review that raise productivity and help older workers.
2. Training, such as to equip older workers with new skills, enhance their existing skills, or to help them adjust to new work arrangements;
3. Retention Incentive, which can go up to $1,200 per newly hired mature worker aged 40 and above with secondary school education and below over a period of 12 months, or $1,800 over 18 months.

Other recommendations include:

• expanding employment opportunities for older workers;
• enhancing cost competitiveness of older workers;
• raising skills and value of older workers;
• shaping positive perceptions towards older workers

Source: Press Release Ministry of Manpower (Janaury 26, 2006)

Opposition to President's Budget Cuts to Senior Job Program

The National Council on the Aging (NCOA) has announced that it will vigorously oppose a $44 million cut and radical restructuring of the the Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP) contained in President Bush's proposed budget.

"This short-sighted proposal would be a major setback for low- income older workers and the entire aging network," said Howard Bedlin, NCOA's vice president of Policy and Advocacy. It would end a successful system that currently uses national sponsors to carry out most of the program, by block granting all the money to the states, while eliminating the program's historic commitment to community service.

"Eliminating national sponsors from the program would also make it less effective in serving its target population of low- income seniors," Bedlin added. "The national sponsors have proven expertise in serving difficult-to-reach populations."

In addition, NCOA believes that including this contentious proposal in proposals to reauthorize the Older Americans Act, will derail reauthorization and thus prevent Congress from achieving the top priority of the delegates to the recent once-a- decade White House Conference on Aging.

Source: News Release U.S. Newswire (Feburary 6, 2006)

Linkages Between Early Retirement and Poorer Health

Following up on recent findings of a recent study published in the British Medical Journal that leaving the workforce at age 55 doubled the risk for death before reaching age 65, compared with those who kept working beyond age 60, James Pasternak seeks further confirmation. According to one of the authors of “Age at Retirement and Long Term Survival of an Industrial Population: Prospective Cohort Study,” failing health might have played a role in the younger retirees' higher mortality, but data were not available to assess directly whether poor health was a significant factor and it is not clear why continued employment led to longer life, the researchers wrote.

Pasternak reports that a Social Development Canada study released in May 2001 seems to conclude that health, the age of retirement and life expectancy might be intrinsically linked, with the planned age of retirement increasing by 2.5 years for persons who report their health as fair, rising to 3 years for persons who report their health as excellent. However, "[s]peaking anecdotally, Larry Berdugo, a certified financial planner of Toronto-based Independent Financial Concepts Group Ltd has found that early retirement without a road map can lead to malaise, indifference and reduced life expectancy."

Source: "Early Retirement May be Dangerous to your Health" CARP Online (February 2006)

Chief Information Officers Can Help Prevent Baby Boomer Brain Drain

Wtih the oldest baby boomers six years away from retirement, Susannah Patton, writing for CIO suggests that corporate chief informaton officers should be taking "a leading role in preventing baby boomer brain drain by being prepared to respond quickly when management decides the company needs a KM system to help retain crucial knowledge." She discusses projects at Rolls Royce, Northrop Grumman, and others to ensure that knowledge didn't disappear with retiring employees. Among other things, she provides "3 Easy Steps for Preventing Brain Drain":

1. Identify your vulnerabilities. "Many companies don't know where they are most vulnerable to knowledge loss," says David DeLong, author of Lost Knowledge: confronting the Threat of an Aging Workforce. One way to get around this is by doing an age profile of your workforce by work unit or by function. Determine the average age of employees in each unit and identify who's likely to retire or leave the company for other reasons.

2. Identify types of knowledge at risk. Use interviewing and social network analysis software to find out what knowledge is most valuable. This will help you decide where to focus your knowledge-retention efforts.

3. Choose your tactics. If you're focusing on transferring "tacit" knowledge, or experience that is hard to catalogue, establish mentoring programs or communities of practice that bring older and younger workers together for extended periods. If you need to document information quickly before key employees retire, start developing databases and other repositories.

Source: "Beating the Boomer Brain Drain Blues" CIO: Beating the Boomer Brain Drain Blues (Feburary 3, 2006)

Baby Boomer Employees and Age Discrimination Laws Both Show No Signs of Slowing Down

An article by Jonathan Segal for the Society for Human Resource Management's HR Magazine discusses recent polls showing that baby boomers will continue working longer than prior older workers and statistics showing an increase in age discrimination awards. He points out, therefore, that for employers, a graying workforce creates both opportunity and potential liability. "Opportunity lies in using older workers’ skills to fill gaps occasioned by the declining birth rate. But liability will arise if your organization improperly excludes, marginalizes or tosses aside older workers. They will fight back, and they will find strong allies in juries."

Analyzing federal and state age discrimination laws, Segal points out difficulties employers may have in mandating the retirement of high executives, whether voluntary retirement program incentives are really voluntary, and issues about the protection of older workers (over 40) as opposed to "older older" workers (closer to 65).

Source: "Time Is on Their Side" HR Magazine (February 2006)

Candadian Trucking Company Looks to Outside Retirees for Drivers

According to an article by Steven Macleod in Truck News, Coastal Pacific Xpress Inc. (CPX) is recruiting early retirees, among others, to address a critical driver shortage in the industry. Jim Mickey, general manager at CPX, says that people who have retired early from a career outside of trucking make for great truckers because they're motivated, mature, and reliable.

"We greatly value early retirees, people in their 50s, and we believe a career at CPX can work for them," said Mickey. "They may have retired from a job in another industry and still want to stay active. Or, a husband and wife may wish to travel and earn an income at the same time." Often, couples will buy and drive their own trucks instead of driving a company vehicle a "dream situation," said Mickey. He said it offers potential annual earnings of $100,000 per couple.

Source: "CPX eyes young, old workers to alleviate driver shortage" Truck News (February 3, 2006)

Ohio: Pushing To Eliminate Social Security Offset for Unemployment Benefits

According to a report in the Canton Repository, "[a]dvocates for seniors and the jobless are pushing for changes that would allow Social Security recipients who work to draw full unemployment benefits if they lose their job." Policy Matters Ohio is a nonprofit research organization that advocates changing the state’s system, and Ohio’s Unemployment Compensation Advisory Council, which makes recommendations to lawmakers, is expected to discuss the reduction at a meeting Feb. 8.

Source: "Social Security recipients see jobless benefits reduced" The Canton (OH) Repository (Janaury 31, 2006)

Additional Resources:

A Janaury 22, 2006 article in the Columbus Dispatch says that Rep. William J. Seitz, Cincinnati, a Republican state lawmaker, is pushing to end Ohio's "offset" of Social Security. He hopes "to help our senior citizens who are rudely awakened to find their Social Security benefits are offset against their unemployment comp benefits when they have to get a second job merely because Social Security isn't enough."

See prior AgingWorkforceNews.com article on the AARP campaigns to repeal Social Security offset provisions in state unemployment laws.

Commentary: Youthfulness and the Older Worker

Judith Timson writes in the Globe and Mail that for older workers wanting to be professionally wanted in a youth-obsessed culture have apparently found a solution--"We're not young any more, we're 'youthful.'"

Whenever I read the word "youthful" applied to anyone over 40, as it is frequently these days, I ask myself: Is this relentless need to redefine the middle-aged as young -- or, more importantly, not old -- a desperate bid by the boomers to hold on to the spotlight at all costs?

Or have we successfully reframed the idea of aging and, with all sorts of new cosmetic, spiritual and physical avenues, simply set the bar higher for how we are all supposed to look and feel?

Referring to the "countless articles and websites offering advice to midlife job seekers worried about appearing old," she says many are absurdly obvious, but she also senses that women in today's work force still have to worry more about aging than men do. However, she suggests that looking good (not necessarily youthful) and looking fit are especially important for older workers looking to get ahead. On the other side, there are certain behaviours that signal "older worker:" "Going to a business event, for example, and reminiscing about the past the whole time -- not a good thing. A few old combat stories are fine but then go ask younger colleagues what stirs their interests in your field these days. You have to stay curious to stay youthful."

Source: "Youthful is as youthful does" The Globe and Mail (February 1, 2006)

Asia: University of Chicago Executive MBA Program Attracts Older Ages

Writing in The Korea Times, Chung Ah-young reports on an executive MBA (EMBA) program that will help seniors successfully continue developing their business skills over their long careers in an aging society. According to the article, "Beth Bader, managing director of the EMBA Asia program of Graduate School of Business of the University of Chicago in the United States, said getting an adult education and continued investment in oneself, through the EMBA course, are crucial in almost any field, for successful long-term careers."

``People begin to realize they don’t want to spend their whole or half their life just declining as they are getting older. In a sense, they can reinvent themselves, if they want to do that. Or they can make a very significant jump in their abilities and flexibilities in the very specialized business program,’’ Bader said.

She stressed that in societies with aging populations, people hope to work longer.

``That’s why I predict more demands for the EMBA course for older ages and more mature-aged students here in Korea and other aging countries. Particularly, business in Korea has been much more mature. People are going to need to work a lot longer than they have done in the past. I think it has happened already in the United States,’’ she said.

Source: "Executive MBA Program Targets Seniors" The Korea Times (February 1, 2006)

Microsoft Launches 21st-Century Skills Initiative for European Workers, Including Older Workers

Microsoft Corp. has announced a 21st Century Skills for Employability initiative in Europe. This is part of a European Alliance on Skills for Employability, which is providing access to skills training, content provision, and certification for underserved communities, including older workers. The alliance, with other companies such as Cisco Systems, is being created to help better coordinate industry and community efforts to improve the employability prospects of young unemployed people, people with disabilities and older workers. The alliance will work to provide technology access and ICT training to 20 million people in the next five years. According to Günter Verheugen, vice president of the European Commission in charge of Enterprise and Industry, “[r]aising employment is the most effective way to generate growth and promote social inclusion. The challenges posed by an aging population make the modernization of social protection systems and the promotion of a life-cycle approach to work all the more important.”

Source: Press Release Microsoft (January 31, 2006)

Ireland: Needs To Mobilize Older People into Workforce

In its latest report in a series of 21 OECD country reports that are intended to fill the knowledge gap of what are the main barriers to employment for older workers, an assessment of the adequacy and effectiveness of existing measures to overcome these barriers, and a set of policy recommendations for further action by the public authorities and social partners, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development has released its Ageing and Employment Policies: Ireland. According to the report, Ireland will need to mobilise more fully the potential labour resources of older people in order to sustain its record of strong economic growth and healthy public finances. Therefore, it should: strengthen work incentives through pension and welfare reform; promote an age-friendly environment in firms; expand training opportunities; and provide more assistance to older job seekers. The full report can be browsed here or purchased here.

Source: News Release OECD (January 31, 2006)

New York Employers Not Rushing To Hire Older Workers

Joy Davia, writing for the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle, reports that while New York area businesses will be losing workers full of experience and institutional knowledge, but won't have nearly enough Generation X-ers and Y-ers to replace them, "[m]ost businesses are aware of the problem but are not preparing for such a scenario, according to a recent upstate New York study by the AARP. They're not actively trying to attract and keep older workers or getting experienced workers to mentor younger cohorts, among other moves."

It might be hard for businesses to take a potential worker shortage seriously, especially if they're not already having trouble finding skilled employees. In fact, massive downsizings by local companies have left an abundance of people searching for jobs. "Change happens so rapidly," said Matthew Hurlbutt, executive director of RochesterWorks. "It might be hard for a business to look at an issue in 2010 and say they should start preparing for this now."

Davia writes that two of the most important things for employers to consider are making jobs attractive for older workers and capturing their knowledge. For example, the YMCA of Greater Rochester offers flexible hours — maybe part time or job-sharing — and benefits, including a new initiative that offers part timers health insurance. And, on the other side, Strong Memorial Hospital has a new mentoring program designed to get more nurses into one of its toughest fields; mentoring, according to Davia is hailed by experts as a great way to prepare for the upcoming swell of boomer retirements.

Source: "Older workers hold key to easing staffing woes" Rochester Democrat & Chronicle (January 29, 2006)

Immigration Not Altering Older Worker Demographics in U.S.

In providing a detailed picture of both the numbers and the socio-economic status of immigrants from U.S. Census Bureau data that shows that the nation's foreign-born or immigrant population (legal and illegal) reached a new record of more than 35 million in March of 2005, Steven A. Camarota, Director of Research at the Center for Immigration Studies, reports that recent immigration has had no significant impact on the nation's age structure--"[w]ithout the 7.9 million post-2000 immigrants, the average age in America would be virtually unchanged at 36 years."

It could be argued that the benefit to the age structure might take more than just five years of high immigration. In a recent reported we examined the impact of immigration on the aging of American society as well as on the Social Security system. Consistent with other research, we found that immigration has only a very small impact on the problem of an aging society now and in the future. While immigrants do tend to arrive relatively young, and have more children than natives, immigrants age just like everyone else, and the differences with natives are not large enough to fundamentally alter the nation's age structure. After looking at the impact of different levels of immigration over the next century, a Census Bureau report stated in 2000 that immigration is a "highly inefficient" means for increasing the percentage of the population that is of working age in the long-run.

Source: "Immigrants At Mid-Decade: A Snapshot Of America's Foreign-Born Population In 2005" Center for Immigration Studies (December 2005)

Employers Not Facing Up to Aging Workforce: Survey Results

The Aging of the U.S. Workforce: Employer Challenges and Responses, a survey conducted by Ernst & Young LLP, ExecuNet Inc., and the Human Capital Institute, reveals that, although corporate America foresees a significant workforce shortage as boomers retire, it is not dealing with the issue at present and may be underestimating the strategic challenges ahead. According to the survey of senior human resources executives, a little more than half of them agreed that the aging workforce is an issue that must be addressed. The survey illustrated that while employers are putting off tackling the issue of an aging workforce, an overwhelming 90% said they are committed to putting formal retention programs in place in the future. Of the 30% who have identified where business wisdom resides, only 67% have formal processes in place to transmit that business wisdom to the next generation.

Source: News Release PR Newswire (January 26, 2006)

Aging Workforce Helps Drive State Government Outsourcing

State and local government outsourcing expenditures on information technology (IT) are expected to grow from $10 billion in fiscal year 2005 to nearly $18 billion by fiscal year 2010 (FY10), according to a report released by INPUT. Despite many government officials' claims, outdated system infrastructures and an aging workforce will remain major factors forcing the market's pronounced 75 percent growth over the next five years.

“As the economy continues a strong recovery, we expect outsourcing opportunities to increase on the state and local level,” added [James] Krouse [, manager, state & local market analysis at INPUT]. “However, system integrators should remain vigilant in researching government opportunities on a case-by-case basis. The loss of seasoned government workers will affect nearly all state & local agencies. While this will be a significant stimulus for outsourcing contract decisions, ongoing maintenance of outdated legacy systems will provide more definite targets for outsourcing contract opportunities.”

Source: Press Release INPUT (January 23, 2006)

Europe: Aging Workforce Issues Part of Annual EU Labor Progress Report

The European Commission has published "Time to Move Up A Gear" The European Commission's 2006 Annual Progress Report on Growth and Jobs to reinforce momentum and force the pace of delivery. The report, and its separate national evaluations, provides an analysis of the 25 new National Reform Programmes submitted by Member States, identifies the strengths in different programmes with a view to promoting the exchange of good ideas, and highlights areas where there are shortcomings and proposes concrete action at EU and national level to deal with them.

In the third of the four priority action areas--employment policies to get people into work, the EU proposes that, to help increase employment rates and to finance pensions and health care for an ageing population, Member States should adopt a lifecycle approach to employment, with people of all ages offered the support they need. In addition, it says "active ageing" should be implemented, with more training for those over 45, financial incentives for prolonging working lives and use of part-time work.

Source: News Release European Commission (January 25, 2006)

Global: Employers and Nations Putting Retired Back to Work

In an article for Newsweek international, Stefan Theil writes that "many of the rich world's notions about old age are dying. While the streamlining effects of international competition are focusing attention on the need to create and keep good jobs, those fears will eventually give way to worries about the growing shortage of young workers. One unavoidable solution: putting older people back to work, whether they like it or not." Writing on the eve of the 36th World Economic Forum, Theil notes that "the global labor market won't wait for politicians or protesters to come around" and provides a number of examples of corporate responses:

DaimlerChrysler, whose share of over-45 workers will have risen from 41 percent in 2002 to 68 percent in 2011, has set up an Aging Workers Task Force, made up of human-resources managers and health counselors whose main job is to make sure that employees stay productive longer. Personnel services like Swiss-based Adecco have introduced "demographic fitness tests" for their clients to help them judge whether they have the tools in place to attract and productively employ qualified older workers. "Age-ism in the workplace is a danger to corporate productivity," warns Adecco, which recommends replacing sudden retirement with a flexible system allowing workers to work part time into their late 60s or beyond.

The Ford Motor Co. expects that the number of workers older than 50 will double in its European plants by 2008, and has set up an "early-warning system" to deal with staff-aging issues. "With the coming shortage of young, skilled staff, we will have to live with our aging employees," says Erich Knulle, health services director and demographics point man at Ford's European headquarters in Cologne, Germany.

Among the national responses discussed, Thiel draws attention to Finland where, when recession hit in the early 1990s, only 20% of Finns between the ages of 60 and 64 were working. Since then Finland has introduced "bonus pensions" for people working until 68, giving them a financial incentive to continue working—and paying taxes.

Source: "The New Old Age" Newsweek: International Edition (January 30, 2006)

South Korea: New Labor Statistics Show Aging of Workforce

According to an article by Kim Sung-jin in The Korea Times, Korea's The National Statistical Office (NSO) said on January 23 that the number of 40-49 year old workers outstripped the working population aged between 30 and 39 years olds for the first time ever.

"The age of the newly employed in Korea’s manufacturing industry averaged 37.6 years in 2004 and would grow to 50 years by 2030 due to the rapidly aging trend and low birthrate of the Korean society," said LG Economic Research Institute (LGERI) vice president and economy research division chief Oh Moon-suk.

"Such trends call for urgent research into ways to raise the productivity of elderly citizens to tackle the declining potential economic growth rate problem in the short-term, and reinvigorate the birthrate to cope with the problem in the long-term," Oh said.

LGERI has suggested that adoption of a wage peak system and extending the retirement age could help the elderly from remaining economically inactive.

Source: "40-Somethings Emerge as Key Workforce" The Korea Times (January 23, 2006)

Commentary: Europe Can Age Gracefully If Reforms Implemented Now

Writing in Business Week, Natascha Gewaltig says that Europe's graying population will put economic pressure on the euro zone soon, but that what is needed is the political will to implement reforms now. "The share of the working-age population (15 to 64) will fall from around 66.9% in 2004 to just 56% in 2050. At the same time, the share of the population older than 65 will increase to 30% from 17%." One key issue will be female labor participation rates increase, which would at least partially offset the effect of a decline in labor supply; however, that will not be enough according to Gewaltig, so that immigration will also have to play an increasingly important role. In addition,

relatively favorable demographic developments over the next 4 to 5 years mean the period until 2011 is a window of opportunity for governments to prepare their pension systems and labor markets for the upcoming challenges. Radical changes and reforms of the PAYG pension schemes in key countries will be necessary. Despite the life-expectancy increase, the entry level for pension schemes has remained widely unchanged -- but this will have to be increased for the plans to remain sustainable.

Nevertheless, the time spent in retirement is likely to increase in the long run, all else being equal, and the change in dependency ratios will make the current PAYG system unsustainable. Pension levels will have to be lowered, and private-pension provisions will need to become more important.

Source: "How Europe Can Age Gracefully" Business Week (January 23, 2006)

Global Pension Systems Need To Adapt to Aging Populations

Raymond Torres, a labor analyst with the international Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), spoke January 19 at the Capitol Hill Club in Washington and told the audience that countries should adjust their pension and employment systems to adapt to aging populations and older workers. According to an article by Kathryn McConnell, Washington File Staff Writer for the Department of State, Torres said that if significant changes are not made in coming years, economic growth in countries could slow profoundly, as longer-living pensioners tap into retirement benefits and the proportion of younger workers who pay into countries' supportive tax bases grows smaller. Among other things, improved incentives for retaining workers longer could include raising the pension age, limiting tax advantages for people in private pension schemes for taking early retirement and ensuring that formal retirement plans and other welfare benefits are not used as pathways to early retirement.

Source: Washington File U.S. Department of State's Bureau of International Information Programs (January 19, 2006)

Massachusetts: Boomers Poised To Redefine Retirement

Massachusetts Institute for a New Commonwealth, known as MassInc, has issued a report "A Generation in Transition: A Survey of Bay State Baby Boomers" in partnership with Princeton Survey Research Associates Intl. finding that, above all, boomers appear poised to redefine retirement. From a survey of over 1,000 boomers, MassInc reports that boomers expect to reverse the trend toward earlier withdrawal from the labor force by delaying their retirement and continuing to work at least parttime even after they retire. Boomers’ views about their retirement years are shaped by their finances today, which are not as strong as is often believed--excluding the equity in their homes, 30% have saved less than $50,000 for retirement, including 13% who have no retirement savings at all. Among those boomers who are planning to work after they retire, at least 39% expect to work out of financial necessity, not by choice.

In addition to the report, a roundtable discussion of it is available from WGBH.

Source: Press Release MassInc (November 2005)

Aging Workforce Issues Prominent in Creating New Global Workforce Forum

In response to the growing need for an international forum for discussion of workforce strategies, the Boston College Center for Work & Family has announced the launch of a Global Workforce Roundtable, a network comprised of human resources professionals from leading multinational organizations. Aiming towards a September inaugural summit in London, the Roundtable is designed to tackle "global concerns such as an aging workforce coupled with dwindling fertility rates." Participation is by invitation only, and participants "will share information and strategies regarding issues ranging from flex time and telecommuting to attraction and retention of talented personnel and aging workforce across the U.S., Europe and Asia Pacific regions."

Source: Press Release Boston College Center for Work & Family (January 17, 2006)

United Kingdom: Older Workers Have Smaller Social Circle, Inhibiting Finding Jobs

A report by Napier's Employment Research Institute (ERI) says that by having a large circle of family, friends, and acquaintances in employment a person is more likely to find or be in work than someone with very few contacts. However, unemployed people over 50 years old had smaller social circles than those in work and that many of their acquaintances were also unemployed which reduced their own chances of finding work.

According to the report--The Social Networks of Older Workers, people over 50 generally had fewer qualifications and skills than the under 50s and were more likely to work in part-time, non-skilled jobs. The over 50s also considered age to be a major barrier to employment. Kaberi Gayen, Research Associate, ERI, Napier University, said: "This research confirms the commonly-held view that older people find it harder to obtain work or change jobs." The research was carried out under the EQUAL initiative, an EU programme designed to combat discrimination and exclusion.

While recommending more research to validate its results over a broader area, the report suggests that more support should be given to unemployed people over 50, through greater development of social networks and skills by employment agencies; more work placements to enable people to widen their skills and social networks; and by increasing the number of volunteering opportunities.

Source: Press Release Napier University Employment Research Institute (January 17, 2006)

Iowa: Legislation Advances To Repeal Income Tax on Pensions and Social Security

The Iowa House Ways and Means Committee voted to eliminate the personal income tax on pension and social security benefits. The legislation, House Study Bill 502, is a five-year phase-out of the state tax on both pensions and Social Security benefits. The phase-out in HSB 502 begins in calendar year 2007. According to Committee Chairman Jamie Van Fossen (R-Davenport), Iowa is one of only 15 states that still taxes social security benefits, while most states that impose an income tax exempt at least part of pension income from taxable income; only three states fully exempt all public and private pensions from taxation.

Source: Newletter Jamie Van Fossen's Week in Review (January 13, 2006) Check this link later

For Governor Tom Vilsack 's perspective, see Quad City Times in which it is reported that he acknowledged that taxing retirement income is an issue in border communities such as the Quad-City area, but believes retirees leave the state because of the weather, not the tax climate. Nonetheless, he told reporters and editors he would be more interested if Republicans considered doing away with the ability of Iowans to deduct federal taxes from their state tax liability.

Commentary: Boosting Iowa To Entice Older Workers

Richard Doak, a columnist for the Des Moines Register, is recommending that if Iowa is going to maintain a workforce anywhere near the size of the present workforce, it will need a lot of people to decide to keep working beyond traditional retirement age. In particular, state government and private-sector employers should work together to provide a lot more of the kind of jobs older workers are interested in--ones that give them a sense of giving back to the community, and generally with less stress and probably less than full-time hours. Thus, he suggests Iowa needs things such as:

• Fast-track procedures in licensing and certification to allow mid-career workers to shift into rewarding fields such as social work, health care and community development.
• More jobs that offer part-time, flex hours and seasonal employment, so seniors can work but still take in their grandkids' Little League games or make a snowbird trip south.
• More housing developments, transportation, recreation and workplaces that involve less hassle, more ease of living.

Source: "Make Iowa the place to be for older workers"Des Moines Register.com (January 16, 2006)

United Kingdom: New Projections of Over-65 Workforce to 2020

The United Kingdom labor force is projected to continue growing and reach 32.1 million people in 2020, on the basis of current trends, according to an article in the January issue of Labour Market Trends. This is a 6.7% increase on the 2005 figure of 30.1 million. It is expected that the number of people remaining economically active above pension age will increase; specifically, the number of over-65s still economically active will increase from 582,000 in 2005 to 775,000 in 2020. Overall, the economic activity rate for working-age people is projected to increase from 78.5% in 2005 to 79.8% in 2020.

The most significant demographic trend affecting the labor force over the next 15 years is expected to be a 23.5% increase in the number of people aged 50 and over. This is a combined effect of the overall trend towards higher life expectancy as well as the transition of the baby boom generation to the 50 and over age group.

Source: News Release National Statistics (January 12, 2006)

Commentary: Dire Forecasts for Boomers Overstated

Julie Kosterlitz and Marilyn Werber Serafini, staff correspondents at National Journal, have opined in an article is based on a recent item in that magazine that "the graying of America may not be the fiscal disaster that the deficit hawks project. The nation may age a good deal more gracefully than advertised, thanks to American ingenuity, adaptability and an increasingly hardy group of elderly." With respect to working life, they say that baby boomers are likely to work longer than preceding cohorts and that a decades-long trend toward earlier exit from the workforce appears to have ended.

Already, some private and government programs are encouraging this trend. The Civic Ventures think tank, which hopes to inspire a movement for paid and unpaid "second careers" in social action, is planning to offer five $100,000 awards in June to people over 60 who devise new ways to tackle social problems. The seniors' group AARP is collaborating with about two dozen companies to connect Americans over 50 with jobs. IBM recently started encouraging senior workers to become math and science teachers, offering them tuition and stipends while they student teach or mentor students online.

Source: "Hold off on the boom-and-doom talk" Los Angeles Times (Janauary 16, 2006)

Singapore: Low Wage Workforce Bonuses Help Older Workers

Farah Abdul Rahim, writing for Channel NewsAsia, reports that older, low-wage workers have given a thumbs-up to the billion dollar workfare assistance proposal unveiled by the Ministerial Committee on Low-wage Workers aims to give this group of workers the leg up, with a one-off bonus and more training. While the cleaning industry was the first industry to reap the benefits of the Job Re-Creation Programme, which saw workers receive training and a new image to help boost their wages, the program's scope and depth were being extended so that low-wage workers can climb up the career ladder easily to become supervisors, better their career prospects and more importantly, bring home more pay. "The aim is to expand the programme to nearly all sectors, including building and maintenance, and new growth areas like tourism."

Source: "Older, low-wage workers welcome workfare package" Channel NewsAsia (January 12, 2006)

Sheriff Backs Down On Using Older Workers from Senior Employment Program

In December, according to an article in the Richmond (IN) Palladium-Item, the Union County commissioners agreed to participate in Experience Works, the federally-funded senior workforce program. Residents age 55 or older who have limited income and want to work are eligible, and Sheriff Steve Leverton was reported to have "said he would use the workers to serve civil paperwork ordered by the court, primarily in the evenings and weekends. Senior workers also could do prisoner transport, especially those coming to court from state prisons." However, Leverton subsequently learned that the work he had planned is considered too dangerous.

Source: "Sheriff's plans for senior help scrapped" Richmond (IN) Palladium-Item (January 12, 2006)

Companies Lose Confidence in Workers’ Ability to Save for Retirement

Hewitt Associates is reporting that, despite continued efforts to educate employees on the importance of saving for retirement, many companies do not feel workers are stepping up to the challenge. According to Hewitt's study of more than 220 large U.S. companies, only 6% are confident their employees will take accountability for their own retirement future this year, down from 12% in 2005. "To address these concerns, an increasing number of companies are implementing automated features that make retirement saving a reactive decision rather than a proactive one." Specifically, 23% are very likely to add automatic enrollment features in their 401(k) plans by the end of the year, 13% are very likely to add contribution escalation features, and 20% plan to add automatic rebalancing of 401(k) accounts.

Source: News Release Hewitt Associates (January 10, 2006)

Older Workers Less Likely To Work Under Influence of Alcohol

Workplace alcohol use and impairment directly affects an estimated 15 percent of the U.S. workforce, or 19.2 million workers, according to a recent study conducted at the University at Buffalo’s Research Institute on Addictions and reported in the current issue of the Journal of Studies on Alcohol. However, "working under the influence of alcohol or with a hangover was more prevalent among younger workers compared to older workers."

Source: News Release University at Buffalo Research Institute on Addictions (January 9, 2006)

AARP Campaigns To Repeal Social Security Offset Provision in State Unemployment Laws

According to an article by Diane E. Lewis in The Boston Globe, AARP has launched a campaign to encourage Massachusetts and eight other states to end state laws that deduct a portion of older workers' weekly Social Security payments from their unemployment benefits. According to AARP, laws in theses states, which include Rhode Island, Maine, Colorado, Ohio, Utah, Illinois, Louisiana, Minnesota, and South Dakota, cause such workers to forfeit $7.5 million per year.

"Two legislative proposals in Massachusetts could lead to a repeal. One, filed by House Minority Leader Bradley H. Jones Jr., a North Reading Republican, would provide enhanced jobless benefits to laid-off older workers. A second bill, filed by Senate Minority Leader Brian Lees, a Republican representing the First Hampden and Hampshire district, would eliminate the Social Security unemployment insurance offset."

Source: "AARP hits law that cuts elders' jobless benefits" The Boston Globe (January 10, 2006)

Connecticut Manufacturers Cannot Fill Jobs--Aging Workforce A Big Factor

According to the "2005 Survey of Current and Future Manufacturing Jobs in Connecticut," conducted by the Connecticut Business & Industry Association, Connecticut manufacturers are having difficulties filling job openings because of the lack of skilled workers looking for employment with many manufacturers saying that the state’s aging workforce, combined with the inadequate skills of job candidates entering the workforce, will make the problem worse within the next five years.

The median age of manufacturing employees nationwide is 42. Connecticut’s workforce has a median age of 37.4 years, ranking it as the seventh-oldest workforce in the nation. More than three-quarters of Connecticut manufacturers say they expect up to 20 percent of their employees to retire within five years. And 94 percent expect to replace at least some of their workforce by 2010 due to employee retirements.

Source: News Release Connecticut Business & Industry Association (January 4, 2006)

IBM Changes U.S. Pension Plans Effective in 2008

IBM has announced that it has changed its U.S. defined benefit pension plans and that it plans to redesign its 401(k) savings plan, effective in January 2008. Specifically, as part of IBM's global strategy of shifting the future focus of retirement benefits toward the more predictable cost structure of a 401(k), IBM plans include:

• stopping the accrual of future benefits in the company's defined benefit pension plans, and fully preserving all retirement benefits that employees will have earned as of December 31, 2007;
• redesigning its 401(k) savings plan by giving current pension plan participants an annual company-funded contribution of as much as 10 percent of their pay;
• assisting nonexempt pension equity plan participants to save more by providing an annual special savings award of 5 percent of pay to their 401(k) savings plan;and
• ensuring 100 percent employee participation in the 401(k) savings plan by opening accounts for employees who do not contribute to the plan, and annually depositing the automatic company contribution of 1 to 4 percent of their pay directly into these employees' accounts.

Source: News Release IBM (January 5, 2006)

Switzerland: Firms look to retain their older employees

According to the Tages-Anzeiger newspaper of Zurich, research shows firms including ABB Switzerland are seeking to address an anticipated future shortage in the labour market. The Swiss Employers' Association and the Swiss organisation for the elderly, Pro Senectute, are currently working on guidelines for firms. According to the director of the employers' association, Peter Hasler, workers should be allowed to gradually reduce their working hours before retiring completely.

A spokesman for ABB Switzerland, Lukas Inderfurth, told swissinfo his company was looking at ways of improving its policy towards workers in the 50 plus bracket. "Older workers are becoming more and more important for the firm in view of the evolving demographic situation in Switzerland," Inderfurth said. A key government advisory committee warned in October that a rise in the retirement age was inevitable in the long run, and that the "dogma" of drawing a pension from 65 would have to be abandoned. The government is also in favour of pushing back the age at which workers draw pensions, and has been withdrawing incentives to early retirement.

Source: "Firms look to retain their older employees" swissinfo (January 3, 2006) in English

Manpower Inc. CEO on The Future Of The Global Workplace

Jeffrey A. Joerres, the president and CEO of Manpower, in an interview with The McKinsey Quarterly, says of the aging population that "[d]emographic issues are hard to solve because they require a partnership between government, which is only in office for a period of time, and business, which has its own quarterly issues to deal with." While he notes that France's notion of retraining—having companies set aside money for a training fund—is very proactive, retraining efforts in the United Kingdom and in Australia-—countries that have an aging problem--are further away. In addition, he notes that a majority of older workers are interested in part-time jobs—-not full-time temporary jobs: "People want to work Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning, not for four months on a project. Getting individuals to think beyond part-time work and to take more responsibility for improving their skills will be absolutely key."

Governments can help with tax schemes, training, payroll subsidies—but, ultimately, I'm afraid there will have to be pain associated with this issue before it becomes institutionalized. Without pain, it's just too easy to keep putting it off for somebody else to solve. But it's not just demographics—you can't forget the pure talent gaps. You're going to find 40-year-olds in the same position as someone who's 60, because the 40-year-old simply lacks the skills the company needs. People can't turn on a dime and change a skill set. You can't be a machinist one day and a nurse the next when you're 60. So the demographic crunch is coming, and it will be exacerbated by the talent crunch.

Source: "The future of the global workplace: An interview with the CEO of Manpower" McKinsey Quarterly (November 2005) Free, but registration required

Attorneys Warn Employers About Discriminating Against Older Workers

Writing for the Knight Ridder Newspapers, Candace Goforth reports that as a result of a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling making it easier for workers to sue for age discrimination, attorneys are "warning employers to examine their policies to make sure they aren't unwittingly discriminating against older workers and leaving themselves vulnerable to claims." According to Paul Magnus, vice president of workforce development for the nonprofit senior employment group Mature Services, discrimination isn't limited to denying jobs or promotions based on age. Organizations that fail to invest in older workers in the same way they invest in younger ones, namely through training and employee development programs, also may be guilty of discrimination.

Source: "Age bias has major legal consequences" Miami Herald (December 26, 2005)

AARP Study Debunks Myths, Shows 50+ Workers as a Solid Investment

The AARP has released a study prepared by Towers Perrin for AARP that challenges myths about workers 50 and older and shows that those employees often have productive advantages that make them far more cost-effective than is generally believed. According to the report--"The Business Case for Workers Age 50+: Planning for Tomorrow's Talent Needs in Today's Competitive Environment", there is a common business perception that 50+ workers "cost more" than younger workers, but that "the extra per-employee total compensation cost of retaining or attracting more 50+ workers ranges from negligible to three percent in key industries" and "older workers are more motivated to exceed expectations on the job than younger workers." Furthermore, in the case of hiring more older workers, "average age-based total compensation cost differences are negligible and hover around one percent per year for the four positions examined."

Source: News Release AARP (December 21, 2005)

Legislation Introduced To Foster Employment of Workers Forgoing Retirement

Senator Herb Kohl (D-WI) has introduced legislation aimed at expanding opportunities for older Americans and baby boomers to work longer if they so choose. The bill is designed to address problems faced by workers who decide to forgo retirement and businesses who seek to retain the experience of older workers and curb a major workforce drain as seventy-seven million people quickly approach retirement age. The legislation, the Older Worker Opportunity Act of 2005 (S. 1826), is co-sponsored by Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL) and would:

Establish a tax credit to employers who offer flexible or phased work to older workers and protect them from health insurance or pension loss; Extend COBRA health coverage for older workers who lose health coverage due to reduction in work hours; Provide a tax credit for the eldercare of a loved one; Improve access to employment and training services funded under the Workforce Investment Act; Create a Federal Task Force on Older Workers through the Department of Labor in order to examine additional barriers faced by older workers and develop ongoing solutions that are helpful to both businesses and older workers.

Source: News Release U.S. Senator Herb Kohl (October 8, 2005)

New Reports Offer Comprehensive Analyses of Demographics and Working Situations of Older Workers

Two new reports have been released by The Center on Aging and Work/Workplace Flexibility at Boston College and Families and Work Institute based on data from the Families and Work Institute's National Study of the Changing Workforce. The reports were released to coincide with the White House Conference on Aging, which will make recommendations to Congress and the President about issues facing the aging workforce. The first report--"Context Matters: Insights about Older Workers from the National Study of the Changing Workforce"--found that older workers are more likely to continue working when they have more control over their work hours, workplace flexibility, job autonomy and learning opportunities. The second report--"The Diverse Employment Experiences of Older Men and Women in the Workforce"--found that female workers over the age of 50 are at a distinct disadvantage to older male workers in that they earn substantially less than men.

Source: News Release The Center on Aging and Work/Workplace Flexibility (December 12, 2005)

Putnam Study Shows Many Retirees Reentering Workforce

Putnam Investments has released the results of a survey--“The Working Retired: Well Educated, High Income, but They Don’t Own Their Homes"--that shows that about 7 million previously retired Americans have returned to work for pay after an average sabbatical of one-and-a-half years. Most are in a job requiring at least the same skill and experience levels as their prior position. Putnam’s research was based on a national survey of 1,726 retirees who are working; they have an average age of 61. Of the respondents, most (54%) retirees work part time, 36% work full time, and the remaining 10% are looking for work; in addition, two-thirds said they planned to return to work following their first retirement.

Source: Press Release Putnam Investments (December 8, 2005)

Employers Opting to Maintain Retiree Drug Coverage for 2006

Most businesses (79%) that now provide retiree health benefits will accept government subsidies for continuing to provide retiree drug coverage at least as good as Medicare’s coverage when the new drug benefit starts in 2006, according to a new survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation and Hewitt Associates. According to the report--Prospects for Retiree Health Benefits as Medicare Drug Coverage Begins: Findings from the Kaiser/Hewitt 2005 Survey on Retiree Health Benefits, another 10% say that they will provide some drug coverage to supplement the new Medicare benefit, and 9% say that they plan to stop offering drug coverage to Medicare-eligible retirees.

“For many reasons, taking the retiree drug subsidy is the strategy of choice for large companies in 2006, but they will continue to reassess their strategies moving forward as more experience develops with Medicare drug plans,” said Frank McArdle, manager of Hewitt’s Washington, D.C., research office. “Unfortunately, retiree health cost pressures remain intense.”

In addition to providing more detail about employer policies affecting prescription drug coverage, the study shows that surveyed firms report an average increase of 10 percent in total retiree health costs between 2004 and 2005, including both Medicare-eligible retirees and early retirees (under age 65) who do not qualify for Medicare benefits. About one in eight surveyed firms (12%) say that they had stopped offering subsidized retiree health benefits in 2005 for future retirees, mainly newly hired workers.

Source: News Release Kaiser Family Foundation (December 7, 2005)

United Kingdon: Pensions Commission Recommends Raising Retirement Age and Other Reforms

The United Kingdon Pensions Commission has issued its report A New Pensions Settlement for the 21st Century with recommendations to increase the retirement age gradually to age 68 and to implement an integrated set of policies that can ensure that increasing life expectancy becomes not a problem but an opportunity for everyone. Key proposals from the Pensions Commission’s report include:

• The establishment of a National Pensions Saving Scheme into which all employees without good existing provision would be automatically enrolled but with the right to opt out.
  
• Reforms to the state system to ensure a sound foundation on which pension saving can build.
  
• Measures to improve the position of people with interrupted work records and caring responsibilities, who are disadvantaged by the existing contributory system.
  
• Measures to facilitate later working and flexible retirement for those who want it.

Other resources available online include the text and slides of Lord Adair Turner's presentation.

Source: Press Release The UK Pensions Commission November 30, 2005