Headlines about "Actuarial - aging workforce"

Gathered from the web by the editors at BenefitsLink.com.
Employment Status of Workers Ages 55 or Older, 1987--2008 (PDF)
Pages 2-7 of 16 pages. Excerpt: "A growing percentage of older Americans are in the labor force: The percentage of those ages 55 or older in the labor force increased from 29.4 percent in 1993 to 39.4 percent in 2008. For those ages 65?69, the percentage increased from 18.4 percent in 1985 to 30.7 percent in 2006. These trends mark a significant change in behavior for individuals in these age groups, and are likely driven by their need to obtain affordable employment-based health insurance and to accumulate retirement savings." (Employee Benefit Research Institute)

Life at 55 and Beyond: March 4, 2010, Discussion
Audio Recording and text of handouts. Excerpt: "[Listen to] the discussion as a panel of experts explores the labor force, economic, health, and identity issues facing Americans approaching retirement. [They] look at the diversity of this population and developmental factors affecting them, successful aging, the special circumstances of older minority men and women, and policy prescriptions that could improve older Americans' economic security." (Urban Institute)

Labor Force Participation Rates: The Population Age 55 and Older, 2008 (PDF)
Pages 10-17 of 20 pages. Excerpt: "THE NEAR ELDERLY AND ELDERLY ARE STAYING IN THE WORK FORCE LONGER: The labor-force participation rate is increasing for those age 55 and older. The percentage of civilian noninstitutionalized Americans age 55 or older who were in the labor force declined from 34.6 percent 1975 to 29.4 percent in 1993. However, since 1993, the labor-force participation rate has steadily increased, reaching 39.4 percent in 2008 -- the highest level over the 1975?2008 period." (Employee Benefit Research Institute)

More of Us Will live to 100: Here Is What Life Might Look Like
Excerpt: "If your children happened to be born since the year 2000 in developed countries, they will most likely live to be 100, and they will be healthier than elderly people in previous generations, according to a recent article in the medical journal The Lancet." (Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania)

Chart Projecting That the Baby-Boom Generation to Remain in the Labor Force
Excerpt: "The baby-boom generation -- those born between 1946 and 1964 -- is expected to remain in the labor force longer than previous generations." (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)

Older Women: Pushed into Retirement by the Baby Boomers?
Excerpt: "Older women's patterns of labor supply over the past forty years have differed markedly from those of younger women. Their labor force participation declined sharply during a period of rapid increase for younger women, and then increased significantly while younger women's plateaued and even declined. But there has been an apparent correspondence between the pattern of retirement among women aged 55-69, and the proportion of workers aged 25-34 working part-year and/or part-time." (Social Science Research Network)

Older Men: Pushed into Retirement by the Baby Boomers?
Excerpt: "The United States has experienced over the past forty years an apparent correspondence between the pattern of retirement among men aged 55-69, and the proportion of workers aged 25-34 working part-year and/or part-time. The latter was an effect of overcrowding among the baby boomers as they moved through the labor market. The former is hypothesized here to be a function of the increasing difficulty older men experienced in obtaining 'bridge jobs' (part-year and/or part-time) between career and retirement." (Social Science Research Network)

MetLife Emerging Retirement Model Study: A Survey of Plan Sponsors
Excerpt: "[New original research] examines employer attitudes and behaviors toward the aging workforce in the midst of a deep economic crisis and in the wake of recent legislation/regulation designed to address the changing needs of employers and their aging workforce." (Metropolitan Life Insurance Company)

The Research Contrtributions of the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College (PDF)
Excerpt: "This article reviews the CRR's research contributionsover its 10-year history and their implications for Social Security and retirement income policy in three major areas: (1) Social Security's long-term financing shortfall, (2) the adequacy of retirement incomes, and (3) labor force participation at older ages as a means to improve retirement income security." (U.S. Social Security Administration)

Employers' Biggest Worker Retirement Fear Is the 'Knowledge Drain'
Excerpt: "A new MetLife study finds employers fear the effect losing retiring workers will have on the company's effectiveness ? often termed a 'knowledge drain.' A news release about the MetLife Emerging Retirement Model Study said when employers were asked which of two retirement-related issues ? delayed retirement or the knowledge drain ? are of greatest concern, 74% said they are primarily concerned about experiencing a knowledge drain as older workers retire." (PLANSPONSOR.com)

A Reluctant Retirement for Older Workers
Excerpt: "While it is difficult to quantify just how many Americans are retiring earlier now amid weak job prospects, recent work from two Wellesley College economists, Courtney Coile and Phillip B. Levine, suggests the effect is large. In a new working paper, they estimate 378,000 workers will be pushed into retirement as a result of the weak labor market -- almost 50% more than will end up working longer because of stock-market losses." (The Wall Street Journal)

Social Security and the Joint Trends in Labor Supply and Benefits Receipt Among Older Men
Excerpt: "Using data from the Current Population Surveys, we find an increase in the fraction of older American men who worked without receiving Social Security retirement benefits and a decline in the fraction of men who claimed benefits without working during the period 1980-2006. Using bivariate probit regressions, we find that an increase in Social Security's normal retirement age decreased labor force participation rate regardless of benefits receipt status; that an increase in the delayed retirement credit increased benefit receipt regardless of labor force status; and that labor force participation and claiming Social Security benefits are strongly and negatively correlated." (Center for Retirement Research at Boston College)

What the Stock Market Decline Means for Financial Security and Retirement Choices of Near-Retirement Population
Excerpt: "This paper investigates the effect of the current recession on the near-retirement age population. Data from the Health and Retirement Study suggest that those approaching retirement age (early boomers ages 53 to 58 in 2006) have only 15.2 percent of their wealth in stocks, held directly or in defined contribution plans or IRAs. Their vulnerability to a stock market decline is limited by the high value of their Social Security wealth, which represents over a quarter of the total household wealth of the early boomers. In addition, their defined contribution plans remain immature, so their defined benefit plans represent sixty five percent of their pension wealth. Simulations with a structural retirement model suggest the stock market decline will lead the early boomers to postpone their retirement by only 1.5 months on average." (National Bureau of Economic Research; paid subscription or individual purchase required to retrieve fulltext)

The Aging Workforce: How to Fight the Risks
Excerpt: "The workforce is aging fast, and stakeholders -- companies, governments, and others -- have a narrow window of time to adapt. So says the World Economic Forum, which Wednesday issued an 80-page report outlining strategic options to address how stakeholders can strengthen financial sustainability, quality of retirement, and health-care provisioning in a rapidly aging world. The report emphasizes that companies and governments must work cooperatively for meaningful action to occur -- a dubious scenario in today's light, with the two sides rarely in agreement on how health care and retirement should be paid for. For CFOs, however, the concern is whether retirement and health-care funding should be a priority right now." (CFO.com)

A Reluctance to Retire Means Fewer Job Openings
Excerpt: "To the long list of reasons American companies aren't hiring -- business losses, tight credit, consumer retrenchment -- add the fact that many of their older workers are unable, or afraid, to retire. In other parts of the developed world, people are retiring as planned, because of relatively flush state and corporate pensions that await them. But here in the United States, financial security in old age rests increasingly on private savings, which have taken a beating in the last year. Prospective retirees are clinging to their jobs despite some cherished life plans." (The New York Times; free registration required)

[Opinion] Working Longer Has Become No. 1 Retirement Planning Strategy
Excerpt: "The economic crisis appears to have created a number of sea changes that will affect employers for decades to come. First and foremost is the awakening of individuals to how meager their savings were before the markets crashed, let alone afterward. Second, and most important for the employer and the workforce, is an appreciation of the new reality that the easiest way to cope is to work longer, since it is likely too late for most workers to get to a retirement-savings goal by the time they sharpen their focus." (Dallas Salisbury via Human Resource Executive Online)

Meeting of July 15, 2009: Age Discrimination in the 21st Century: Barriers to the Employment of Older Workers
Excerpt: "In light of widespread layoffs, a significant spike in age discrimination charges, threats to employee benefits, and controversial recent court decisions, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) [held] a public hearing Wednesday, July 15, 2009, at 10 a.m. (Eastern Time), at agency headquarters, 131 M St, NE, Washington, DC., to discuss age discrimination in employment. Experts will discuss the results of age stereotyping on older workers' ability to keep their jobs during layoffs or to find work afterwards and the effect of recent controversial Supreme Court decisions on enforcement of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA). Panelists will suggest potential enforcement and policy solutions. In addition, representatives from recent ADEA cases will discuss their experiences. Finally, the Commission will issue a technical assistance document that explains terminated employees' rights and obligations when offered severance pay in exchange for a waiver of discrimination claims." (U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission)

Call for Papers: Living to 100 Symposium IV, January 5?7, 2011
Excerpt: "This Call For Papers is addressed to professionals knowledgeable in the subject matter and interested in preparing a high quality paper for the symposium that will advance knowledge in the important area of longevity and its consequences. Collaboration is encouraged and authors may submit more than one paper. . . . The Committee on Living to 100 Research Symposia is seeking papers exploring aging, longevity and the implications thereof. A list of suggested topics is presented [on the target page]. " (Society of Actuaries)

Extending Life Cycle Models of Optimal Portfolio Choice: Integrating Flexible Work, Endogenous Retirement, and Investment Decisions with Lifetime Payouts
Excerpt: "This paper derives optimal life cycle portfolio asset allocations as well as annuity purchases trajectories for a consumer who can select her hours of work and also her retirement age. Using a realistically-calibrated model with stochastic mortality and uncertain labor income, we extend the investment universe to include not only stocks and bonds, but also survival-contingent payout annuities. We show that making labor supply endogenous raises older peoples' equity share; substantially increases work effort by the young; and markedly enhances lifetime welfare. Also, introducing annuities leads to earlier retirement and higher participation by the elderly in financial markets. Finally, if we allow for an age-dependent leisure preference parameter, this fits well with observed evidence in that it generates lower work hours and smaller equity holdings at older ages as well as sensible retirement age patterns." (Pension Research Council; registration required to download fulltext of paper)

A Tidal Wave Postponed: The Economy and Public Sector Retirements (PDF)
4 pages. A survey of two groups of government managers reveals that the slumping economy is holding back retirements among state and local government employees. (Center for State and Local Government Excellence)

Why Are Older Workers at Greater Risk of Displacement?
Excerpt: "This brief analyzes changes in the displacement of older and prime-age workers since the mid-1990s and the effect of three factors ? tenure, educational attainment, and employment in manufacturing ? identified as having a significant effect on displacement risk. The results show that all three factors contributed to the rising dislocation risk older workers face and their rising risk vis-?-vis prime-age workers." (Center for Retirement Research at Boston College)

Older Workers: Recareering in Later Life
Excerpt: "The research concludes that later-life career change seems to be an important part of the retirement process. Many changers later in life appear to be pushed into new lines of work involuntarily following job layoffs or business closings. Others, however, appear to place a high premium on leaving 9-5 work and moving into more flexible positions, even at less pay. Some older workers may change careers in hopes of finding more meaningful jobs that give added purpose to their lives." (AARP)

Engaging the 21st Century Multi-Generational Workforce: Findings from the Age & Generations Study (PDF)
33 pages. Excerpt: "Major findings from this study include: Older workers are more likely to have higher levels of engagement than younger workers. Employees reporting better physical and mental health are more likely to have higher levels of engagement than those with poorer physical and mental health. Employees who are satisfied with the training and development opportunities available to them are more likely to have higher levels of engagement than those who are not satisfied. Employees working in teams that have a culture supportive of workplace flexibility are more likely to have higher levels of engagement. The investment that employers make in their benefits programs also contributes to the level of the engagement of their workforce, specifically, employers who offer health insurance for the family members of full-time employees, life insurance, and employer-contributions to the employees' defined contribution plans are more likely to have higher levels of engagement." (The Sloan Center on Aging & Work at Boston College)

Largest Teacher Retirement Wave in History Approaching (PDF)
20 pages. Excerpt: "In a recent survey, NCTAF found that almost 60 percent of Baby Boom teachers said they intend to work after retirement. This echoes the intentions of more than half of the 78 million Boomers in the wider workforce who say that after retirement they 'want jobs now or in the future to help improve the quality of life in their communities.' Yet teachers, like all professionals, want new challenges and opportunities. Seventy percent of the teachers nearing retirement would be interested in staying if they were able to work in new education roles in 'phased or flexible retirement' according to NCTAF's survey." (National Commission on Teaching and America?s Future)

[Guidance Overview] Don't Throw Baby Boomers Out with the Bath Water: Consider Phased Retirement
Excerpt: "As baby boomers have grown older, many companies have toyed with the idea of establishing a phased retirement program. But now that the economic crisis is forcing organizations to reduce costs any way they can, more and more are giving phased retirement a serious look. In the past, it was not unusual for businesses to offer selected employees an informal opportunity to scale back their hours or continue working part time after they retired. However, until recently, a number of real and perceived barriers discouraged organizations from offering phased retirement on a widespread basis." (Deloitte Development LLC)

Aging Boomers Require Workplace Flexibility, Says American Management Association
Excerpt: "[Ed Reilly] recently spoke with Workforce Management staff writer Ed Frauenheim. Workforce Management: Why should companies care about demographic changes? Ed Reilly: There's no question that over the next several years, the group of people who are 30 to 45 years old will assume the management positions in America, and this group is smaller in number than the baby boomers." (Workforce Management; free registration required)

Elderly Immigrants' Labor Supply Response to Supplemental Security Income
Excerpt: "This paper examines the effect of changes in immigrant eligibility for Supplemental Security Income in 1996 on the employment and retirement behaviors of foreign-born elderly persons. I find that denial of SSI was associated with a 5 percentage point (15 percent) increase in the employment of non-citizen elderly men and a 5.6 percentage point (11 percent) decrease in their retirement rate." (Center for Retirement Research at Boston College)

Economic Restructuring and Retirement in Urban China
Excerpt: "In its gradual approach to economic transition, China deferred the difficult process of restructuring state owned enterprises (SOEs) until the mid-1990s. When restructuring of large scale SOEs accelerated after 1997, China witnessed sharp declines in the employment of urban residents. While some dislocated state sector workers made a transition to work in the non-state sector, large shares of laid off workers spent long periods unemployed or out of the labor force. Much of the transition out of the state sector occurred through early retirement and exit from the labor force of older workers." (Center for Retirement Research at Boston College)

DB Plan Meltdowns: Victims of Current Crisis
Excerpt: "[A] radical overhaul of the private pension system, especially the defined benefit branch, will be required if it is to be preserved as a key engine for assuring the retirement security of our workers and their families. Whatever last legs the defined benefit plan design had been balancing on after the 'perfect storm' of 2002 have been knocked out from under it with the financial collapse of 2008." (Attorney Alvin D. Lurie)

Maximizing the Productivity of Older Workers (PDF)
6 pages. Excerpt: "This InsightOut will: Explore the characteristics and implications of an aging workforce; Offer strategies for maximizing the contributions of older workers (and indirectly, workers of all ages); Pose situation-specific questions employers can use to assess the potential impact on their organizations and formulate a relevant response." (Buck Consultants)

Why You'll Work Through Your Retirement
Excerpt: "There is a major social and cultural message in the current economic collapse for the future retirees of America: Forget retirement. That's right. The recession is making clear what we've suspected for a long time. The concept of not working and embracing leisure for the last third of one's life isn't practical for most people. Put it this way: Survey after survey has shown that a majority of aging baby boomers plan on working in retirement. Well, that plan is coming true." (BusinessWeek)

Recessions and Older Workers
Excerpt: "With the economy sliding ever deeper into recession, questions arise about how older workers are faring and how their fate relative to younger workers compares to the past. The answer to these questions turns out to be a little complicated. Two forces are at work. On the one hand, labor force participation among older workers has been rising since the early 1990s, a reversal of the long-standing trend toward ever-earlier retirement. Participation rates among older workers have even continued to rise during both of the recessions in this decade ? a dramatic change from previous experience. On the other hand, the edge that older workers used to have relative to younger workers when it comes to layoffs seems to have disappeared, so the rise in the unemployment rate for older workers in recessions now looks similar to that for younger workers." (Center for Retirement Research at Boston College)

Can the Bottom Third of the Workforce Work Longer?
Excerpt: "This brief addresses the question of whether men in the bottom third of the educational distribution ? a proxy for earnings levels ? can be expected to work longer. The first section describes the employment patterns of men and the change in employment patterns since the early 1960s. The second section examines the primary factors that might explain the decline in employment among older low-skill workers ? changes in availability of alternative sources of income (Social Security disability and retirement benefits and the advent of the Supplemental Security Income program), changes in the composition of labor demand, and changes in health. The concluding section assesses the implications for retirement income policy." (Center for Retirement Research at Boston College)

The Opinions of Florida Workers Aged 40+ About Their Jobs, Employers, and Retirement
Excerpt: "Key Findings: 7 in 10 workers say they are very satisfied with their job overall, and about 2 in 3 are very satisfied with their work hours and their boss; 7 in 10 say their employer provides a defined contribution plan, but only 3 in 10 say their employer automatically enrolls employees into such a plan; 9 in 10 full-time workers and 6 in 10 part-time workers receive health insurance; 51% have calculated how much money they will need when they retire, and 6 in 10 of these respondents say they are saving enough for retirement; and, 6 in 10 respondents plan to work beyond the normal Social Security retirement age." (AARP)

Study Says Social Security Shifts Influencing Retirement Patterns
Excerpt: "The paper notes that one of the main reasons for enacting the 1983 Social Security reforms in the United States was to increase the labor force participation rate of older workers. Additionally, in 2000 Congress further expanded work incentives by abolishing the Social Security earnings test for people over the normal retirement age. As a consequence, the authors assert that in 2004 more men over age 65 were working than in earlier years." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)

What If Boomers Don't Retire?
Excerpt: "What happens when the most expensive, longest tenured, most experienced, and, some would say, most devoted contributors won't, or can't, leave their positions? What happens to the emerging generation of leaders and managers who discover that the people to whom they report won't be departing any time soon? And what happens to the generation of workers after them? Is the US workforce headed for a multi-generational train wreck within organizations large and small?" (The Florida Times-Union)

Older Workers and the Recession
Excerpt: "During previous downturns, relatively few older Americans were counted as unemployed. Although many lost their jobs, they generally retired instead of looking for work. During the severe 1981-82 recession, seniors' unemployment rate grew by just 0.8 percentage points ? only about one-fourth the increase for prime-age workers (25 to 54). Today, however, seniors are nearly as likely as their juniors to join unemployment lines, because pink-slipped seniors can no longer afford to put their feet up. Shrinking Social Security benefits, traditional pension plans, and 401(k) balances combine with soaring health care costs to force them to keep pounding the pavement." (Richard W. Johnson via Urban Institute)

Demographic Change and Consequences for Businesses
Excerpt: "Over the past years, different publications clarified that many older employees will have to stay in the workforce because they simply cannot be replaced due to a lack of qualified, or even existing, young workers. Moreover, 'future leaders are likely to face not simply a labour shortage, but a knowledge shortage, as organisations bleed technical, scientific, and managerial know-how at unprecedented rates' (DeLong 2004: 18). It therefore is of utmost importance that businesses start emphasising special retention strategies for retaining older employees such as constant provision of good training as well as motivation and energy. The aim of this master's thesis comprises of the evaluation and comparison of different strategies to cope with demographic challenges." (Social Science Research Network)

Alzheimer's Growing Concern for Businesses: How Employers Can Help Affected Workers Stay Productive and on the Job
Excerpt: "As the workforce ages, the number of people working with early symptoms of dementia is likely to grow. Many large corporations hope to hold on to skilled employees past traditional retirement age. While most older employees are likely to be healthy, two out of every 100 people 65 to 74 years old have Alzheimer's disease.' (Workforce Management; free registration required)

Identifying Local Differences in Retirement Patterns (PDF)
30 pages. Excerpt: "The ability to retire at an age and in a manner of one's choosing depends on one's ability to retain or find employment at older ages, which depends in turn on local labor market conditions. We investigate how local labor markets affect retirement transitions. We match households from the Health and Retirement Study to MSA unemployment rates and estimate multinomial logit regressions on annual job transitions." (Leora Friedberg, Michael Owyang, and Anthony Webb via Center for Retirement Research at Boston College)

[Opinion] A Strategic Argument for Phased Retirement
Excerpt: "Commentary: Why should employers care about the social good of phased retirement -- especially in today's downturned economy, when getting expensive workers off the books is a matter of some urgency for many organizations? It's simple: Phased retirement is good for business." (Workforce Management; free registration required)

Cities Ask for Economic Assistance for Pensions
Includes link to the text of the letter. Excerpt: "On November 13, the Mayors of Atlanta, Philadelphia and Pheonix wrote a letter to Treasury Secretary Paulson asking that the federal government provide economic assistance to cities. The letter asked that money be made available, for among other purposes, to help in paying for unfunded accrued actuarial liabilities in public pension funds." (National Conference on Public Employee Retirement Systems)

Employers Must Focus on Older Employees to Retain Competitive Edge, Especially in Current Economic Crunch
Excerpt: "[D]isgruntled older workers could resort to litigation or work sabotage over their lack of retirement savings, experts say. . . . These scenarios mean that it is more important than ever for companies to have effective performance management systems, thorough financial education programs and processes in place to engage older workers and keep them productive . . . ." (Workforce Management)

Phased Retirement and Older Workers: Keeping Talent on Board
16 pages. Excerpt: "In this Perspective, we look at the combination of challenges and opportunities faced by employers as they try to retain these veteran workers and meet their business goals. Changes to the workforce profile are inevitable, and the question is how will you respond?" (Mercer LLC)

Subjective Health Assessments and Active Labor Market Participation of Older Men
Excerpt: "We use panel data from the US Health and Retirement Study 1992-2002 to estimate the effect of self-assessed health limitations on active labor market participation of men around retirement age. Self-assessments of health and functioning typically introduce an endogeneity bias when studying the effects of health on labor market participation. This results from justification bias, reflecting an individual's tendency to provide answers which 'justify' his labor market activity, and individual-specific heterogeneity in providing subjective evaluations." (Social Science Research Network)

Are Older Men Healthy Enough to Work?
Excerpt: "In determining whether people will be able to work longer, it is not simply measuring how long they will live, but rather how much longer they will be capable of working. Life expectancy may be increasing, but can the same be said for healthy, disability-free life expectancy? This brief uses the National Health Interview Survey to estimate trends in disability-free life expectancy for men at age 50..." (Center for Retirement Research at Boston College)

Work Expectations, Realizations, and Depression in Older Workers
Excerpt: "We explore the impact on depressive symptoms of deviation in actual labor force behavior at age 62 from earlier expectations. Our sample of 4,241 observations is drawn from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS)." (National Bureau of Economic Research; paid subscription or individual purchase required to retrieve fulltext)

Working Longer as Jobs, and Retirement Funds, Contract
Excerpt: "Even as workers in their 40s, 50s and 60s accept having to work years longer than anticipated, many companies are laying off employees amid the economic downturn. This often means that older workers are pushed out first, because they are usually the highest-paid employees." (The New York Times; free registration required)

[Opinion] Younger Workers Hurt When Boomers Can't Afford to Retire
Excerpt: "The first wave of baby boomers is scheduled to retire in 2011 - the same year my daughter graduates from college. Will a big percentage of the 4 million college graduates wind up jobless because my generation's 3.4 million baby boomers can't afford to retire? Even if Barack Obama or John McCain convinces Congress to adopt my proposal of a mandatory 401(k) contribution at 9% of pay, it won't be enough for the baby boomers who are scheduled to head out the door." (Employee Benefit News; free registration required)

The Decline of Career Employment
Excerpt: "[S]ome indication that people might be willing to work longer comes from the fact that the century-long downward trend in the labor force participation of older men has clearly ceased, with participation rising slightly since the mid-1990s. But the changes to date fall far short of what is required to offset declining Social Security benefits and modest 401(k) balances – an increase in the average retirement age from the current 63 to an estimated 67." (Center for Retirement Research at Boston College)

Baby Boomer Retirements May Create Labor Crunch
Excerpt: "The labor supply may experience shortages in coming years as more Baby Boomers retire, according to a study by KPMG. The firm found there is a lack of Generation Y workers to replace those who are expected to retire in the years ahead. That could lead to a lack of consumer spending and a contraction in the tax base." (WebCPA.com via On Wall Street)

New Data Confirms Americans Working Through Retirement
Excerpt: "An analysis of new Census Bureau data by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) confirms earlier theories that Americans will work longer than in previous generations - either by choice or because they have to. According to an updated CRS summary of older workers' employment trends, 52% of men aged 62 to 64 were employed in March 2008, compared to 43% in 1995 and 42% in 1990. Of men aged 65 to 69, 33% were employed in March 2008, compared to 27% in 1995 and 26% in 1990." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)

Do State Economics or Individual Characteristics Determine Whether Older Men Work? (PDF)
13 pages. Excerpt: "The difference in labor force participation rates of men aged 55-64 across the United States is astounding. For example, West Virginia has a participation rate below 60 percent, while South Dakota has a participation rate approaching 90 percent (see Figure 1). This fact in itself has significant implications for the pressures that states will face as the baby boom starts to retire in the face of a contracting retirement income system, declining housing prices, and a lackluster stock market." (Center for Retirement Research at Boston College)

George F. Will on the Governmental Pension Plan Time Bomb
Excerpt: "Vallejo [California] is an ominous portent for other cities, and some states, few of which are accumulating financial resources sufficient to fulfill pension promises they have made to employees. Are you weary of the crisis du jour -- subprime mortgages and all that? Get a head start on worrying about the next debacle by reading Roger Lowenstein's new book, 'While America Aged: How Pension Debts Ruined General Motors, Stopped the NYC Subways, Bankrupted San Diego, and Loom as the Next Financial Crisis.'" (Washington Post; free registration required)

Text of Congressional Research Service Report on Pension Participation and Sponsorship: Recent Trends (PDF)
20 pages. Excerpt: "[A]mong private-sector workers aged 25 to 64 who were employed year- round, full-time: The percentage of workers whose employer sponsored a retirement plan rose from 57.2% in 2006 to 59.9% in 2007. The percentage of workers who participated in employer-sponsored retirement plans rose from 49.2% in 2006 to 52.0% in 2007. Only 25.5% of workers at firms with fewer than 25 employees participated in an employer-sponsored retirement plan in 2007, compared to 45.5% of workers at firms with 25 to 99 employees and 65.4% of workers at firms with 100 or more employees." (Congressional Research Service, U.S. Library of Congress)

Changing Demographics and Cruddier Retirement Plans Mean More Workers Will Delay Job Exit
Excerpt: "'The American work force is aging -- it is a very dramatic demographic transformation for the country,' said Gayle Gamauf McCoy, vice president of senior programming for the National Able Network, which helps train older workers. Indeed, with pensions rare and investments losing value, more Americans will be delaying retirement -- or trying to. But in a tough economy, cutbacks commonly include early retirement buyouts, even for workers in mid-career." (Financial Week; free registration required)

Corrected Link: Pension Timebomb Ticks in Europe as Population Ages
Excerpt: "The European Union's population is set to reach 506 million by 2060, when there will be only two people of working age for every person aged 65 or more, the EU statistical office said on Tuesday." (Reuters via Forbes.com)

A Tax Revolt Is Quietly Brewing in Some States
Excerpt: "These and other battles come at a time when many states are struggling to cope with tough economic times." (Wall Street Journal via Baltimore Sun)

Pension Timebomb Ticks in Europe as Population Ages
Excerpt: "The European Union's population is set to reach 506 million by 2060, when there will be only two people of working age for every person aged 65 or more, the EU statistical office said on Tuesday." (Reuters via Forbes.com)

Economists Underscore Risks of 'Age Inflation'
Excerpt: "While there has been growing talk of the aging of America, two National Bureau of Economic Research economists have now coined a term for it: 'age inflation,' The Wall Street Journal reports. The government and individuals alike will be in for a rude awakening, warn John Shoven and Gopi Shah Goda. As it stands, the number of people eligible for Social Security is going to increase by 20% by 2050, as Baby Boomers retire. But that number will actually be far higher, due to ever-increasing life expectancies." (On Wall Street)

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