Wednesday, January 14, 2015

The Growth of the Elderly Workforce and Its Causes



Doug Short notes:
The percentage of elderly employment is hovering at its historic high -- now double its low in the mid-1980s. This is a trend with multiple root causes, most notably longer lifespans, the decline in private sector pensions and frequent cases of insufficient financial planning. Another major cause, I would argue, is the often surprising discovery by many of the elderly that the "golden years of retirement" might be less personally satisfying than productive employment. 

4 comments:

  1. " frequent cases of insufficient financial planning"

    Yeah, everyone saw ZIRP coming from a mile away, right? Insufficient financial planning indeed!

    The correct term is "financial repression"

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  2. Another major cause would be 0% interest rates rapidly driving up the cost of living at a much faster pace than it's driving up the value of their savings account (as in, not at all). Most people simply can't afford to retire anymore.

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  3. I'm a believer that retirement should involve saving enough so that you can quit your career and then go work a job you enjoy.

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  4. Retirement is an invention of government and just kills old people anyway. I welcome them back to the work force. Anything that increases the overall productivity of human kind is a good thing. Not to mention it may vary well cut medicare costs.

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