Proposals to Keep Older People in the Labor Force. Brookings Institution. Alicia H. Munnell and Abigail N. Walters. January 24, 2019
Older people need to work longer in order to ensure a secure retirement. Social Security, the backbone of the retirement system, will not replace as much preretirement income in the future as it does today. Employer-sponsored retirement plans also involve considerably more uncertainty, given the shift from defined benefit plans to 401(k) plans. With these institutional saving arrangements on the decline, people could decide to save more on their own. But personal saving outside employer plans is virtually nonexistent, with the exception of home equity—an asset that retirees are reluctant to tap. Combine the retirement income crunch with the dramatic increase in life expectancy and growing health care costs, and continued employment in later life is the best option for ensuring financial security. The challenge is to ensure that older Americans plan to keep working and that employers retain and hire them. [Note: contains copyrighted material].
[PDF format, 25 pages].
