In Recession, Older Workers Hang in There

In California, nearly 30 percent of people ages 65 to 69 are still working

Excerpts from article in AARP BulletinToday, May 12, by Michael Zielenziger

Since the recession started in December 2007, the number of employed workers over the age of 55 has actually grown by more than 800,000, according to figures released last week by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). By contrast, during the same period some 5.7 million workers have lost their jobs, and the unemployment rate now stands at 8.9 percent

• The shift from defined-benefit to defined-contribution pension plans, which has increased the incentives to work later in life.

• Older Americans have less confidence that they can afford retirement. The 2008 Retirement Confidence Survey, released in April by the nonpartisan Employee Benefit Research Institute, found that “Americans’ confidence in their ability to afford a comfortable retirement has dropped to its lowest level in seven years.” Between 2007 and 2008 alone, the share of U.S. retirees who reported that they are “not too” or “not at all” confident that they have enough money to live comfortably throughout their retirement years increased from 21 percent to 34 percent.

• Changes in the Social Security program have created a financial incentive to continue working later into life. In 2000, for instance, Congress repealed a provision that had reduced the amount of Social Security benefits people ages 65 to 69 received if they had earnings from work above a certain threshold.

Read the entire article at:
http://bulletin.aarp.org/yourmoney/work/articles/in_recession_older_workers_hang_in_there.html

So if you find yourself still working, you're not alone.

Have a great day

Tom Binder
Seniors Real Estate Specialist