Work and Retirement: Facts and Figures

The nonpartisan Urban Institute publishes studies, reports, and books on timely topics worthy of public consideration. The views expressed are those of the authors and should not be attributed to the Urban Institute, its trustees, or its funders.

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An aging population creates challenges for workers, employers, and policymakers. The impending retirement of the baby boomers and the relatively small size of later generations may lead to skills shortages, create upward pressure on wages and inflation, and limit economic growth. Lower output would reduce government tax revenue at the same time that the surge in retirees will increase spending on Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. Lengthening life-spans force workers to spread their retirement savings over more years than ever before, an effort complicated by employer cutbacks in traditional pension plans and retiree health benefits and threatened cuts in Social Security and Medicare.

But population changes tell only part of the story. Economic output will depend on the number of workers relative to those supported by the public. And the number of workers will depend on individual decisions about work and employer decisions about hiring and retention. Demographic shifts will likely present important new job opportunities for older Americans.

This fact sheet describes the benefits of delayed retirement, the capacity of older people to remain at work, trends and patterns in labor force participation at older ages, and some of the legal and institutional work impediments that exist for older Americans. Information is drawn from such government sources as the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Census Bureau and the following Urban Institute reports:

"Enjoying the Golden Work Years," by Barbara A. Butrica, Simone G. Schaner, and Sheila R. Zedlewski. Available at http://www.urban.org/url.cfm?ID=311324.

"Promoting Work at Older Ages," by Richard W. Johnson and C. Eugene Steuerle. Available at http://www.urban.org/url.cfm?ID=410932.

"Work Impediments at Older Ages," by Richard W. Johnson, Gordon B. T. Mermin, and C. Eugene Steuerle. Available at http://www.urban.org/url.cfm?ID=311313.

"Working for a Good Retirement," by Barbara A. Butrica, Karen E. Smith, and C. Eugene Steuerle. Available at http://www.urban.org/url.cfm?ID=311333.

Note: This report is available in its entirety in the Portable Document Format (PDF).

The nonpartisan Urban Institute publishes studies, reports, and books on timely topics worthy of public consideration. The views expressed are those of the authors and should not be attributed to the Urban Institute, its trustees, or its funders.

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