Baby Boomers are Working Longer
At least based on when they begin taking Social Security
A potential panacea for our aging society, and others as well, is older adults continuing to work for more years, whether full-time or part-time. Potential benefits include:
More workers in an economy that is likely to face a labor shortage with baby boomers retiring and younger generations having fewer children.
More funds in the hands of retirees as they spend more years earning and fewer years spending down their savings.
Older adults benefiting from the social engagement and purpose of being in the workforce.
Retirees receiving higher Social Security benefits as they delay claiming to later ages.
It seems to make sense that the retirement age for most workers be extended with increases in longevity. We will need to work more years to save enough for a longer retirement. And if we’re healthier, we should be able to do so. This is also consistent with an economy that’s no longer based on physical labor which can be harder on older bodies.
What’s Actually Happening?
But what’s the reality in the workforce? Are baby boomers working longer than earlier generations did? It appears that they are, at least as measured by the age at which they begin to take their Social Security retirement benefits.
A new study released by the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College reports that the percentage of workers who begin taking benefits at age 62, the earliest possible age, has dropped significantly since the 1990s, from more than half to just over a quarter.
Over the same years, the authors, Anqi Chen, Alicia H. Munnell, and Nilufer Gok, report, the average Social Security claiming age has increased from just over 63 to 65.
This reverses a long-term trend of workers retiring earlier that came to an end in the mid-1980s.
Is Working Longer Really a Panacea?
Yet, there can be downsides to older people continuing to work if they are not physically able to do so, must stay longer at jobs they don’t like, or are denied employment opportunities due to age discrimination. The economist Teresa Ghilarducci raised these questions when she participated in my podcast last fall, debunking what she calls the “working longer consensus.”
And as the economist Beth Truesdale explained to me, many older adults don’t have the option of working longer because they have already left the workforce in their 50s due to illness, disability, loss of jobs, or caregiving responsibilities. She proposes making work better and more flexible for all employees no matter their age.