Presents findings on 2009 unemployment and labor participation rates, length of unemployment, and earnings for workers age 55 and older, compared with past trends and with younger workers. Analyzes data by gender, race/ethnicity, education, and industry

Corina Mommaerts

Richard W. Johnson

English

A crosscutting team of Urban Institute experts in Social Security, labor markets, savings behavior, tax and budget policy, and microsimulation modeling ponder the aging of American society. The aging of America raises many questions about what’s in store for future and current retirees and whether society can sustain current systems that support the retired population. Who will prosper? Who won’t? Many good things are happening too, like longer life and better health. Although much of the baby boom generation will be better off than those retiring today, many face uncertain prospects. Especially vulnerable are divorced women, single mothers, never-married men, high school dropouts, and lower-income African Americans and Hispanics. Even Social Security—which tends to equalize the distribution of retirement income by paying low-income people more then they put in and wealthier contributors less—may not make them financially secure. Uncertainty about whether workers today are saving enough for retirement further complicates the outlook. New trends in employment, employer-sponsored pensions, and health insurance influence retirement decisions and financial security at older ages. And, the sheer number of reform proposals, such as personal retirement accounts to augment traditional Social Security or changes in the Medicare eligibility age, makes solid analyses imperative. Urban Institute researchers assess how current retirement policies, demographic trends, and private sector practices influence older Americans ’ security and decisionmaking. Numerous studies and reports provide objective

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How Did Older Workers Fare in 2009?

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How Did Older Workers Fare in 2009?

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