Survey: Americans Find Later Life without Work To Be Impractical and Undesirable

A survey conducted by Merrill Lynch Global Wealth Management and Age Wave reports that 72% of pre-retirees over the age of 50 in the United States say their ideal retirement will include working. In addition, 47% of current retirees report having worked or planning to work during their retirement years.

According to the study ("Work in Retirement: Myths and Motivations"), whereas retirement used to be viewed as a permanent end of work followed by a period of continuous leisure, not retirement is better viewed as a phased process, which the authors call "The New Retirement Workscape" consisting of:

1. pre-retirement—for employees within five years of retirement, 37% have taken meaningful steps towards a retirement career, and within two years of retirement, 54% have done so;
2. career intermission—52% of retirees report they took a break, averaging 2.5 years, before working again;
3. reengagement—a period lasting around nine years, during which 83% of people working flex careers work part-time, as opposed to 17% in pre-retirement careers, and 32% are self-employed, as compared to 11% in pre-retirement careers; and
4. leisure.

The full survey report has been made available. Source: Merrill Lynch Global Wealth ManagementNews Release (June 4, 2014)

Research: Does Health Care Reform Affect Labor Participation by Older Workers?

In a blog posting on MarketWatch, Alicia H. Munnell follows up on research published by Center for Retirement Research at Boston College on the effects of Massachusetts’ health-insurance reform. According to Munnell, analysis "yielded an interesting result. It showed that, compared to nearby states, 55-to-64-year-old males in Massachusetts experienced the largest decline in labor force participation between the time before and after the health insurance reform." Specifically, the state Massachusetts saw a decline in labor force participation for that group of 1.3 percentage points while the rest of the nation saw an increase of 1.7 percentage points.

One possibility for the difference could be the ability of those men to acquire affordable health insurance without having to wait for Medicare. In support of this theory, Munnell notes that "prior to Massachusetts’ health reform, 93% of 55-to-64-year-old males who were out of the labor force had health insurance; after the reform that number had risen to 97%."

Munnell then contemplated extrapolating these results across the country, in light of the Affordable Care Act. She said that, "[i]f unhealthy workers—or people who simply hate their jobs—were able to leave the labor force because of expanded access to health insurance, economists argue that this reduction may not be a bad thing." However, "if health reform alters the financial incentives to work through higher marginal income taxes on labor, as some have argued will be the case under the ACA, then a reduction in labor force participation may be a negative outcome of health reform."

Source: MarketWatch "Will health reform affect older workers?" (June 11, 2014)

United Kingdom: Pension Minister Launches Action Plan To Help Older Workers Stay in the Workplace

The United Kingdom's Department for Work and Pensions and Pensions Minister Steve Webb has announced that the government will launch of a new action plan to support the economy, workers, and businesses, but stressed that British business must realize the potential of older workers and help people to stay in the workplace. Detailed in "Fuller Working Lives—a framework for action," the new measures include:

• extending the right to request flexible working to all employees in June 2014;
  
• the appointment of a new Older Workers’ Employment Champion—a respected and independent-minded figure who will advocate the case for older workers within the business community and wider society; and
  
• the launch of a new Health and Work Service which will give workers with long-term health problems the support they need to stay in or return to work.

According to the announcement, while the employment rate for 55 to 64 year olds is around 60% and growing, the recent improvement has been relatively modest compared to many other nations, and several countries achieve employment rates of around 70% or above. Among other things, Webb said:

• "Older workers have a huge amount to bring to any workforce and are a vast untapped talent."
  
• "We are living longer and can expect many more years of healthy life. It’s great news – but it’s something that as a society and as an economy we need to respond to."
  
• 'As part of building a fairer society, I am determined that we boost our support for older workers and help employers challenge outdated perceptions to see the real strengths of this important section of the workforce."
  

Source: Department for Work and Pensions and Steve Webb MP Press Release (June 13, 2014)

Other Sources: Daily Mail "Flexible hours push to help the over-50s stay in work: Pensions Minister says older generation are 'vast untapped talent'" (June 13, 2014)

Finland: Rising Age for Pre-Retirement Unemployment Benefits May Be Causing Increased Unemployment among Older Workers

As reported in Yle Uutiset, Statistics Finland has found that seniors facing a growing risk of unemployment as they age, and a "Tampere University researcher says the reason for the trend could be the constantly rising lower age limit for pre-retirement unemployment benefits."

Specifically, the data is showing that for men the risk of becoming jobless was greatest between the ages of 58 and 59, while for women the corresponding age was 58, while in 20023, the risk of unemployment was highest for men aged 55 and for women who were 56.

University of Tampere special researcher Simo Aho said that the steady risk in the risk age is due to ongoing rise in the age at which workers become eligible for additional earnings-related unemployment allowance. Currently persons who lose their jobs are eligible for the allowance from the age of 58 until retirement.

Source: Yle Uutiset "Unemployment risk growing among pre-retirement workers" (June 9, 2014)

Sweden: Looking at Retirement Age and Proposals to Strengthening Labor Participation by Older Workers

SeniorPolittik.no is running a series of articles on Sweden and retirement. According to the lead story, even though, under Swedish law, an individual has no right to remain in employment after age 67, and Swedes have the right to withdraw retirement pension as early as age 61, among both employers and employees it is a deeply rooted belief that the earlier retirement age of 65, the normal retirement age.

Swedes work longer than workers in many other countries, such as Denmark and Finland. However, labor force participation among Swedes aged 65 and older is generally not as high as in for example Norway. Labour force participation among older Swedish women, however, higher than in Norway. Nevertheless, politicians are worried and stressing among other things, that Norway has been more successful in changing attitudes away from a fixed retirement age.

Drawing on a report prepared for the Swedish parliament earlier in 2014, it is apparent that negative attitudes towards older workers is common. The report notes that Norway's creation of a center for senior policy is a cause of the attitudes in Norway being less negative, and it concluded that it is not enough just to raise the retirement age to change the perception of older workers. Information and knowledge are also needed.

While the Swedish report notes that "everyone can not work indefinitely, but many are able to work with and much longer than is the case now," there are proposals to raise the statutory right to continue in employment to 69. In addition, a year ago, proposals were submitted o the government to raise the age for the earliest opportunity to receive a pension from the government gradually from 61 years, on the grounds that life expectancy is projected to increase.

Sources: SeniorPolittik.no, Retirement Age in Sweden: "Mener Norge har lyktes bedre" [Believe Norway has succeeded better], "Fant sin egen vei videre" [Found their own way forward], "Bør være en menneskerett å få arbeide" [Should be a human right to work] (June 2014);

Israel: Government Drafting Proposal to Encourage Delayed Retirements

According to an article in Haaretz, the Israeli government is drafting a plan to encourage people to work past retirement age. As reported by Meirav Arlosoroff, the plan drafted by the Pensioner Affairs Ministry—led by minister Uri Orbach and ministry director general Gilad Semama—together with the National Economic Council in the Prime Minister’s Office would cost NIS 240 million ($69 million) a year, and would be funded by dropping the current pension increases offered to people who keep working beyond retirement age.

The number of retirement-age Israelis is set to reach nearly 15% by 2030, from 10% today, meaning the national expenditure on the elderly is likely to grow from the current 10.2% of GDP to nearly 12%, an increase of 16 billion shekels.

Surveys have shown that most people approaching pension age would like to continue working, but face barriers including discrimination, outdated skills and above all a taxation and state pension policy that serves as a strong disincentive.

In Israel, the retirement age is 62 for women and 67 for men. Currently, taxation and pension policies that essentially work out to a 97% income tax on some retirees who continue to work past retirement age, although those taxes are greatly reduced if someone works past 70. The proposal would cut the taxes and penalties for working to 44%-67% of the person’s salary.

In a follow-up article, Arlosoroff reports on a survey conducted by the business data firm BDI Coface for TheMarker, which revealed that only one in five workers hired by the 100 largest companies was over 45—revealing a picture of blatant discrimination based on pure prejudice:

Older job seekers are less likely than their younger peers to be hired, despite being perceived as more stable, experienced and capable of working longer hours because they don’t have small children at home.

These results echo findings of a survey conducted for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission by the Economy Ministry’s research division, which found that the hiring rate for employees aged 45 and up is just 1.3%, even though this group accounts for 38% of Israel’s labor force.

Source: Haaretz "Plan would reduce tax, pension penalties for working past retirement" (May 27, 2014); Haaretz "No country for old workers" (May 30, 2014)

Survey: Workers More Optimistic about Retirement, but More Contemplating Phased Retirement

The Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies® has released the results of its annual retirement survey, which found increased optimism among workers around the world about improvements in their local economies, but also noted that many workers envision some kind of phased transition into retirement. According to "The Changing Face of Retirement—The Aegon Retirement Readiness Survey (2014)," just 32% of workers surveyed plan to immediately stop working and fully retire. In the United States, this number is just 24%, while in European nations, which which have histories of compulsory retirement, workers are more likely to plan to stop immediately: for example, , 52% in Spain and 51% in France.

Employment and government policy reforms are needed to facilitate this new approach to retirement, yet change is not catching up with worker demand: only 23 percent of workers say their employers facilitate transitioning from full-time to part-time. Even fewer U.S. workers (21 percent) indicate their workplace policies accommodate the transition. In many cases, change in labor and pension laws, as well as a change in cultural norms, are needed to facilitate implementation of a phased retirement program.

The Aegon Retirement Readiness Survey 2014 is a collaboration between the Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies and Aegon. The survey encompasses 16,000 employees and retirees in 15 countries, with separate country reports available for each of them: Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Japan, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States. These countries were selected on the basis of their distinctive pension systems, as well as their varying demographic and aging trends.

Source: Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies® News Release (May 29, 2014)

Alaska: Department of Labor Outlines Status of Aging Workforce and Consequences of Increased Retirements

An article in the May 2014 issue of Alaska Economic Trends looks at the current composition of the state's workforce and jobs with high numbers of older workers in order to help identify occupations most likely to be affected by an increase in retirements. According to the report by Rob Krieger, from 2002 to 2012, there has been an increase in both the number and percentage of older workers in the state. In addition, this age group earns a much larger percentage of total wages than they did a decade ago. These trends are more significant in the public sector.

In looking at the jobs with the most older workers, the top occupations within state and local government include a number of technical and specialized positions, management and teaching jobs.

In the private sector, these occupations include a combination of highly skilled, highly technical, and top-level management positions. Physicians and surgeons, architectural and engineering managers, and chief executives topped this list…. What these occupations have in common is their requirement for extensive education and experience.

The article also points out that one major factor in determining the effects of vacancies will be the rate at which these workers retire, since not all who are eligible will retire at once, and some will remain working.

Source: Alaska Department of Labor "A Growing Number of Older Workers: Where upcoming retirements could come from" Alaska Economic Trends (May 2014)

Australia: Employment Discrimination against Older Workers on the Decline

The Financial Services Council has issued a report showing that discrimination towards older workers is on the decrease in Australia. According to "How Older Workers are Valued: Results of the National Survey on Attitudes to Older Workers," Australian employers are viewing older workers as a more reliable source of skills and experience despite pressures from the broader economy. In particular, the report finds that only 18% employees between 50 and 75 said they were discriminated against on the grounds of age, down from 28% a couple years ago.

Among other key findings in the report:

• 66% of older workers want to keep working regardless of their financial situation;
• 39% of older workers want more flexibility in hours and remuneration;
• 67% of older workers have been offered training or upskilling by their employers;
• 41% of older workers believe they should be paid more than younger employees based on their skills and knowledge, 43% said they should be paid about the same.

Source: Financial Services Council Media Release (April 28, 2014)

Australia: Study Finds Governments Not Doing Enough To Hire Older Workers

According to a study using Australian Bureau of Statistics and Census data, both federal and state governments in Australia lag well behind the private sector when it comes to employing older workers. In "Past, present and future of mature age labour force participation in Australia," the National Seniors Productive Ageing Centre highlights variations in rates of aging and mature age participation across the country.

National Seniors points in particular to a marked decline in the proportion of people aged 60 and over employed by governments, noting that around 16.4% of men aged 50 to 59 work across national, state and local bureaucracies, but this falls to 12.7% for men in their 60s, while women drop from 24.2% in their 50s to 20.1%. In contrast, private sector employment actually increases as people age.

According to National Seniors chief executive Michael O’Neill, “[t]he public service should represent the gold standard in hiring and retaining mature age staff. Instead, public servants aged over 60 are a rare breed across the country....When it comes to employing senior Australians, governments, both federal and state, get a big ‘F’”.

The report concludes that an aging workforce underscores the importance of addressing the barriers to mature age employment from age limits on workers compensation to discriminatory recruitment practices. In addition, the projected decline in the overall growth in labor supply over the next 30 years underscores the need for governments, industry and employers to recognize the importance of ongoing mature age participation.

Source: National Seniors Press Release (April 17, 2014)

EBRI Reports that Women are Driving Increased Labor Participation by Workers 55 and Over in the U.S.

According to an EBRI report, older workers (those 55 and older) are a growing presence in the U.S. work force, a trend
driven mainly by women. The April 2014 EBRI Notes—"Labor-force Participation Rates of the Population Ages 55 and Older, 2013"—finds that the labor-force participation rate for those ages 55 and older rose throughout the 1990s and into the 2000s, and that, for those aged 55–64, the upward trend was driven almost exclusively by the increased labor-force participation of women. For men, the participation rate was flat to declining. For workers 65 or older, participation rates increased for both men and women.

EBRI attributes the upward trend in labor-force participation to workers’ current need for continued access to employment-based health insurance, as well as for the need for more years of earnings to accumulate savings in defined contribution plans and/or to pay down debt. It also notes that "[m]any Americans also want to work longer, especially those with more education for whom more meaningful jobs are available that can be performed into older ages."

The EBRI report is less clear about how differing participation rates affect the generations. Thus, younger workers’ labor-force participation rates increased when that of older workers declined or remained low during the late 1970s to the early 1990s. However, as younger workers’ rates began to decline in the late 1990s, those for older workers continuously increased. "Consequently, it appears either that older workers filled the void left by younger workers’ lower participation, or that higher older-worker participation limited the opportunities for younger workers or discouraged them from participating in the labor force."

Source: EBRI Press Release (April 16, 2014)

Netherlands: OECD Report Calls for Greater Efforts Encouraging More People To Work Later in Life

The Netherlands must encourage more people to work later in life in order to help it meet its growing challenges of a rapidly aging population and rising social spending, according to the OECD. In its report "Ageing and Employment Policies: Netherlands 2014: Working Better with Age," the OECD says that while reforms over the past decade, such as raising the pension age, have already had an impact—so that the share of 55-64 year olds in work has increased significantly to just over 60% in 2013 (above the OECD average of 55%)—the Netherlands remains well behind the best OECD achievers, ranking only 16th for the employment rate of 55-64 year olds among the 34 OECD countries.

Among its recommendations, the OECD says the Netherlands should:

• promote longer contribution periods in second-pillar pension schemes and increase flexibility in withdrawal and combinations of pension and work to encourage longer careers;
  
• reduce the maximum duration of unemployment insurance benefits combined with better activation of all unemployment benefit recipients;
  
• keep replacement rates (the ratio of benefits to former earnings) of sickness and disability benefit well below 100%, and give access to wage-compensation already in the sickness benefit period for re-entry to new jobs with a lower wage;
  
• ensure that new practices among innovative firms in the Sustainable Employability program are promoted and progressively become national standards;
  
• mobilize more fully labor resources by supporting initiatives to facilitate working on a full-time basis for part-time workers.

Source: OECD News Release (April 16, 2014)

Update: Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment of the Netherlands Press Release (April 16, 2014)

Research: Governments Need To Restructure Deferred Retirement Plans To Encourage Retention of Employees

A University of Missouri researcher concluded has that states may need to restructure deferred retirement incentives to encourage more employees to remain on the job longer and minimize the disruption to government operations. Using, as a case study, the state of Missouri’s Deferred Retirement Option Provision (BackDROP), Angela Curl, assistant professor in the University of Missouri School of Social Work, looked at how the large numbers of possible retirees—in Missouri, more than 25% of all active state employees will be eligible to retire by 2016—threaten the continuity, membership and institutional histories of the state government workforce.

Curl said that a good system of employee retention is inclusive, flexible and accounts for the wide range of circumstances that retirement-eligible employees may consider when deciding to defer retirement. These circumstances could include caregiving for older parents or having a spouse who is retired. In Missouri, BackDROP offers a one-time payment equaling 90 percent of what employees would have received in benefits for an additional five years of service as incentive to delay retirement.

Curl said that “[e]mployers need to ask if their organizations are designed to promote turnover or promote retention. . . . States should recognize the benefits of promoting retention. Using delayed retirement incentives to encourage retention is important, particularly when dealing with older employees.”

A paper—“A case study of Missouri’s deferred retirement incentive for state employees”—co-authored by Kirsten Havig, will appear in the Journal of Aging and Social Policy`. Among other things, the study also found that social demographics such as race, sex, level of education and marital status did not play a significant role in an employee’s decision to defer retirement.

Sources: University of Missouri News Release (April 3, 2014); Columbia Business Times "MU researcher examines options for aging workforce" (April 8, 2014)

Survey: Tower Watson Shows More Workers Planning on Delaying Retirement Past 70

Tower Watson's annual survey of employee attitudes towards retirement finds that at workers are especially worried about the affordability of health care in retirement, and significant numbers have been forced to cut back on spending and plan to delay retirement, many until age 70 or later. According to Towers Watson’s 2013/2014 Global Benefit Attitudes Survey, while 46% of full-time employees are satisfied with their current finances—a sharp increase from 26% in 2009, 58% remain worried about their financial future. Employees’ confidence in their ability to retire has climbed with 23% very confident of their income sufficiency for the first 15 years of retirement. On the other hand, that confidence deteriorates when workers look farther ahead, with only 8% very confident of having adequate income 25 years into retirement.

With respect to delayed retirement, Tower Watson reports:

With many workers expecting to fall short on their retirement savings, nearly four in 10 plan on working longer. That’s an increase of nine percentage points since 2009. A large majority of these employees expect to delay retirement by three or more years, and 44% plan on a delay of five years or more. The profile of those delaying retirement tends toward the disengaged, less healthy and more stressed. These findings suggest a higher average retirement age in the future. In 2009, 31% of workers planned on retiring before 65, and 41% planned on retiring after 65. According to the 2013 survey, only 25% plan on retiring before 65, and half expect to retire after 65. One in three employees either does not expect to retire until after 70 or doesn’t plan to retire at all.

Tower Watson also notes that access to a defined benefit plan is a significant factor in employee attitudes: Workers without such access (and those in ill health) are consistently the most worried about their finances and retirement; workers with access to such plans are moderately more secure and more engaged in reviewing their savings, although even they continue to worry about possible changes to their plans and cuts to public programs.

Source: Tower Watson News Release (March 26, 2014)

Northern Ireland: Commissioner for Older People Urges Government and Employers To Increase Older Workers Participation in the Workforce

The Commissioner for Older People for Northern Ireland has released a report that shows that the economy in Northern Ireland could be increased by £2.3billion by 2037 if the number of older people in the workforce increases. According to "Valuing an Ageing Workforce," which was produced in conjunction with the International Longevity Centre-UK, the government and employers should introduce ways to enable older people to remain in the workforce for as long as they wish to. The Commissioner, Claire Keatinge, says:

"This shows that older workers can be more effective than their younger colleagues and make a positive contribution in the workplace, despite widely held misconceptions that somehow productivity and output diminish with age.

"Many people will want to stay in work, for a variety of reasons, such as the removal of the previous Default Retirement Age, increase in life expectancy, and for personal fulfillment; and some will stay in work because they need to for financial reasons.

"It is essential that appropriate supports are put in place so as to enable older workers to continue to be able to play a positive role in the workforce."

Among the findings reported by the Commissioner and highlighted in a briefing note to the report are:

1. Employers would benefit from valuing the positive role that older people play in the workplace.
2. Employment rates for older people in Northern Ireland have increased since the financial crisis in 2008 and there is a strong economic case for working beyond 65.
3. There are still a range of barriers which prevent people working longer, including ageist attitudes, health, caring responsibilities, skills and training opportunities, as well as the fact that ‘cliff-edge’ retirement is still a common occurrence here.
4. Initiatives should be introduced by the Northern Ireland
   Executive and employers to support people to work longer, should they wish to do so.
5. Older people in Northern Ireland should have the right to remain in work as well as the right to retire, and they should be supported in either scenario.
   

Source: Commissioner for Older People for Northern Ireland News Release (March 25, 2014)

AgeUK Literature Review Finds Someone’s Age Bears No Relation to Worker's Ability To Do Most Jobs

A literature review conducted by AgeUK reports that someone's age bears no relation to their ability or capability to perform the vast majority of jobs. Thus, AgeUK recommends that employers reconsider their existing workforce and HR strategies, and develop more effective retirement policies that place the wellbeing of their older employees at the heart of the process.

In its review, AgeUK finds, among other things that:

• The evidence shows either a lack of relationship between productivity and age, or that older workers are at least as productive as their younger colleagues. Even in physically
  demanding situations, for example on a factory production line, age is no barrier to working productively.
• Measuring individual productivity is challenging for researchers. Older studies, which often suggest older workers are less productive, frequently rely on outdated assumptions about aging and health, or fail to account for a myriad of other factors. More recent studies, which often find older workers are at least as productive as younger workers, are better able to account for these.
• As people age some cognitive and physical abilities do change—however, this does not
  make older workers better or worse than younger colleagues. There is no evidence of a substantive decline in ability in most people until well past the end of a typical working life. Aging affects everyone differently, and it is not possible to make predictions about any one individual’s capability.
• The interaction between skills, knowledge and experience means that many tasks can in fact be performed better as people age, and raises challenges for employers about how best to utilize individuals’ skills and abilities.
• Recognizing the challenges faced by older workers and offering solutions to mitigate them, for example flexible working to help people meet caring responsibilities, can help enhance individual productivity.

Source: AgeUK "Productivity and Age" (March 2014)

Australia: Superannuation Conference Hears about Research Findings on Involuntary Retirement and Gen Y Attitudes about Suuperannuation

The 2014 Conference of Major Superannuation Funds sponsored by the Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees (AIST) heard from a number of presenters about the confluence of retirement and an aging workforce. Among other things, conferees heard that:

• A more flexible approach to retirement may be needed to account for the significant minority of older Australians who are forced to leave the workforce early. According to a research report commissioned by AIST and prepared by the Australian Centre for Financial Studies (ACFS), up to 40% of older Australians could be classified as involuntary retirees. AIST CEO Tom "Garcia said more needed to be done to help older workers stay in the workforce longer so that they had a better chance of building their retirement savings before they reached old age. Equally, there needed to be recognition that those who retired early due to ill-health were often hit with additional health-related expenses that put pressure on their savings. See AIST media release, as well as presentation by Professor Deborah Ralston, Executive Director, ACFS, Professor of Finance, Monash University on "Involuntary Retirement: Characteristics and
  Implications"
• Research commissioned by AIST suggests that many Gen Y’s have a realistic idea of how much money they need to retire, what the Age Pension will supplement and how they want to use their money at retirement time. However, they lack the knowledge and education to understand more. See AIST media release and presentation by Michelle Tustin, Research Director, Colmar Brunton, on "Gen Y: The Messaging Wars"
  

Source: Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees CMSF2014 Presentations (March 2014)

Age and the Technology Sector: Noam Scheiber Calls Out the "Brutality" of Ageism

In a lengthy article in The New Republic by Noam Scheiber writes about how "Silicon Valley has become one of the most ageist places in America." According to Scheiber, "tech luminaries who otherwise pride themselves on their dedication to meritocracy don’t think twice about deriding the not-actually-old." As he said on NPR: "On the engineering side, 35 really starts to be considered quite old. The computer languages change so quickly that people are quickly perceived to be out of date. On the entrepreneur side, people value experience a little more but there, even 40 and over tends to be perceived as quite old."

When taken to its logical extreme, a tech sector that discriminates in favor of the young might produce an economy with some revolutionary ways of keeping ourselves entertained and in touch at all hours of the day and night. But it would be an economy that shortchanged other essential sectors, like, say, biotech or health care.

Source: The New Republic "The Brutal Ageism of Tech: Years of experience, plenty of talent, completely obsolete
" (March 23, 2014)

Other sources: NPR All Things Considered "Weaned On Youth, Silicon Valley Keeps Older Workers On Sidelines" (March 24, 2014); CNBC "How Silicon Valley discriminates against older workers...to its own peril"; BigThink "The Brutal Ageism of Silicon Valley"

Nevada: AARP Surveys Opinions about Discrimination against Older Workers

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

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

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

Source: AARP Press Release (March 2014)

EBRI Retirement Confidence Survey Finds

According to the 24th annual Retirement Confidence Survey by the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI), Americans’ confidence in their ability to afford a comfortable retirement has recovered somewhat from the record lows of the past five years, but it does not appear to be founded on improved retirement preparations. In fact, "The 2014 Retirement Confidence Survey: Confidence Rebounds—for Those With Retirement Plans" (Issue Brief No. 397) suggests that the improvement may be limited to those with retirement plans.

In the aggregate, reported worker savings remain low, and only a minority appear to be taking basic steps
to prepare for retirement. Nearly half of workers without a retirement plan were not at all confident about their financial security in retirement, compared with only about 1 in 10 with a plan.

Among EBRI's other findings:

• The increase in confidence between 2013 and 2014 occurred primarily among those with a plan (an increase from 14% very confident in 2013 to 24% in 2014 for those with a plan, compared with level readings among those without a plan (10% very confident in 2013 and 9% in 2014).
• The percentage of workers planning to work for pay in retirement now stands at 65%, compared with just 27% of retirees who report they work for pay in retirement.
• Only 44% report they and/or their spouse have tried to calculate how much money they will need to have saved by the time they retire so that they can live comfortably in retirement, a level that has held relatively consistent over the past decade.

Source: EBRI Press Release (March 18, 2014)