Paid employment is probably not the first thing that leaps to mind when the subject of
older Americans comes up. Yet many people remain in the labor force well into old age, and
their numbers are increasing. In numerous surveys over more than a decade, preretirees have
been insisting that they expect to work during their so-called “retirement years,” both because
they want to remain active and because they need the income or health insurance that employ-
ment provides (Helman et al., 2008; Yakoboski & Dickemper, 1997). Although there is con-
siderable evidence that workers tend to retire earlier than they expected to (Helman et al., 2008),
many signs point to prolonged work lives for a sizable portion of the labor force.
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Retirement became more affordable for more workers at younger ages. Employers, many of whom harbored cost concerns as well as negative attitudes about the technological
competence and learning ability of older workers (AARP, 1995), had little need to stand in the
way of the retirement of their older employees.
They could turn instead to the huge cohort of baby boomers and growing numbers of
married women entering the workforce. The early retirement incentives in many private pension
plans enabled employers to divest themselves of their older workers in a relatively humane way
and made the transition to retirement less painful.
The picture for women - notably those aged 55 to 64, who are now perhaps more
appropriately described as “middle-aged” - was considerably different. The labor force
participation rate for these women rose as succeeding cohorts of younger women entered and
remained longer in the workforce and as older women returnedto work after caregiving. The rate
increased by nearly 18 percentage points from 1948 to 1985, or from 24.3% to 42%. Women aged 65 and over, on the other hand, had rather limited labor force attachment to
begin with, a fact that changed little from the late-1940s to the
IF women were working more, what caused that, if not the
As the baby boom added to the reasons for women to stay or to return to domesticity, there were other factors at work. Not only were there more children to increase their home-based responsibilities, but there were geographical reasons that separated women from men. The suburban explosion in the late 1940s and 1950s was
Economic factors will play a role in baby boomers working beyond the age of 50. Due
It no stretch to see that the majority of workers nowadays are above forty. The population of youth is unable to get the jobs to support themselves and the seniors are given them instead due to more work experience and the fact that the better part
Seniors born entre January 1, 1933 and December 31, 1945 are described as Post-War Cohort and have a current Population of 55 million, but their population is declining. According to extension.missouri.edu, they are retirees in majority and formed the largest voting population. Seniors or veterans also called Silent Generation inherited the consequences of the Great Depression of 1929 and World War II. They feel gratified by the effort or work, they are struggling to work and usually stay for long in the same company. They are obedient and respectful to authority, they are cautious and have a sense of duty but modern technologies such as information, communication and social networks are not obvious to them and may even be refractory. They earned less than today, but in their time, the quality of work was an art. Seniors born entre January 1, 1933 and December 31, 1945 value security, comfort, and familiar, known activities and environments. Like the baby boomers, the silent generation is committed in marriage even though some divorced. This cohort is a target composed mainly of women and men widowers who live alone for half of them, especially women. This cohort had significant opportunities in education as a post-war economic boom struck America.
YOUNG UNMARRIED WOMEN: Public acceptance of wage-earning jobs for young unmarried women was growing. No longer being limited to work as "mill girls" or domestics, these women began to perform clerical work in offices and
In conclusion, elderly Americans face many obstacles as they grow in age, such as ageism, workforce discrimination, poverty,
Allen, S. G., Clark, R. L., & Ghent, L. S. (2004). Phasing into retirement. The Industrial & Labor Relations Review, 58(1), 112-127. Gelfand, D.E., & Bechill, W. (1991, Summer-Fall). The evolution of the older Americans act: a 25-year review of the legislative changes. Generations, 15(3), 19-22. Zastrow, C. H., & Kirst-Ashman, K. K. (2010). Understanding Human Behavior and the Social Environment (8th ed.). Mason , Ohio: Brooks Cole/Cengage.
In today’s society, the work industry is comprised of numerous generations from baby boomers to millennia’s. Due to reasons ranging from increased cost of living to political policies, Americans are being forced to work longer in order to obtain the social security benefits they’ve contributed to during their careers. Each generation has certain generational influences such as war times and civil rights for the baby boomers and social media and the technology boom for the millennia’s. One constant that has not changed, however, is that the average American has to work for a living, and with the evolution of the US economy, they are having to work longer and are retiring later.
In America, people are changing their views on aging and the elderly. Some of the reasons that the attitudes are changing could be due to more elderly people are remaining in the work place longer, as opposed to retiring early. Riffkin (2014). And there is the fact that we baby boomers are living longer. Even though the U.S. only ranks 53rd with a life expectancy of 79. That’s an increase of one year since 2010. (“The World: Life Expectancy” 2016)
In general, countries experiencing high fertility and rapid population growth, have a “young” population structure and the important policy considerations are if there are enough schools and, sufficient jobs and housing to accommodate this population. Countries with “old” population structures face the problems of structuring and developing retirement and health systems to serve this older population and also they have a considerable reduction the number of the working force. The decline of the work force is one of the most dramatic economic tendencies of the past four decades in the United States. The individual’s decision of whether to stay in the workforce or to retire is based on the collaboration of a number of factors including the following: eligibility for Social Security benefits, availability of and benefits under an employer-financed pension plan, work
(Rampell). Women who are married today have more freedom working, but women who were married in the 1950s did work during World War II. However when World War II ended, women had to returned home from their jobs because the men were coming home from the war. (Stoneham). This is when many women lost their sense of independence because they had to provide for their husband and children again and some women stayed at their jobs in the 1950s.
“Sketchy evidence that older workers experience discrimination because of their age is easy to find. The popular press includes many stories of individual employees who have been replaced by younger workers, sometimes just before they become eligible for lucrative retirement benefits. Older workers (in the past) were forced by mandatory
Medicare is not the only benefit seniors receive from their government. Taxes can be greatly affected by age. For instance, many elderly receive tax breaks and extensions based on their social security benefits as well as reductions and tax-cuts on certain holdings and investments. So with Roth IRAs, 401k the elderly is only taxed upon withdrawal. Discounts are available everywhere for the elderly from restaurants to cruise ships. Normally, with higher prices bring bigger discounts. Ageing workers are more skilled, knowledgeable, and more proficient than their younger counterparts. Often times it can be said that the “older people” are more intelligent, practical, intuitive, extremely flexible and very strategic in their work ethic, planning and can be considered “intelligent” in life’s well learned lessons that come with age and wisdom. Being positive and using an example in this way between aging and greater wisdom, one tends to have a greater degree of patience, greater understanding and wisdom that parallels life’s pathway. “Many elders in foreign countries are considered to be esteemed and held in high regard,” (Applebaum, Bardo, Robbins (2103). Some studies show that interests, motivation and skill does not decline with age, nor does a person’s work performance suffer due to aging. Aging workers also receive higher salaries due to their tenure. Finally, there is no data to show that older workers cost more to insure than younger
Elderly people are often stereotyped as forgetful, weak, or unable to take care of themselves; keeping this in mind, how can you logically hire an elderly person to do a job that a young, more physically fit employee could undoubtedly perform with less risk and effort. Stereotypes such as these are playing a huge role in the controversy over mandatory retirement. Morgan