Working Longer in America: Prospects and Problems

A recent panel took differing views on the prospects of older U.S. workers staying gainfully employed to offset fewer retirement savings, reports Next Avenue . Journalists Chris Farrell and Carol Hymowitz offered a positive outlook, with Farrell citing research debunking common stereotypes about older workers, as well as entrepreneurship among older Americans. He said the Internet and increasingly affordable technology are making midlife business launches easier, "so now, with most of these businesses, the owners are not touching their 401(k) or 403(b) retirement plans. That makes starting a business less risky for their retirement." Hymowitz pointed to a trend of certain employers and fields revising policies to better suit older workers' preferences and needs. "In manufacturing, healthcare, transportation, energy and — most surprising of all — Hollywood, I found companies now want older people due to the labor shortage," she commented. However, Brookdale Center for Healthy Aging Fellow Peter Gosselin was less upbeat, citing "gutted" age discrimination laws that have diluted protection for older workers from layoffs. "When you combine older people who have had involuntary job separations with those forced out due to problems with their health or the health of someone in their family, two-thirds will retire involuntarily," he lamented. "That is not the 'golden years' story we are told."