It may be you, or someone you know. The people at work get younger and younger and suddenly you are out. This isn’t what the Baby Boom generation expects.
The news here is mixed. One third of people over 55 who retired feel they had no choice but to retire, according to a new survey by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, funded by the Sloan Foundation.
The survey also found that 54 percent of people under 65 who retired felt that they had no choice but to retire.
Yet there is an indication that the situation is changing and that Baby Boomers are at the vanguard of a new trend.
People over 65 now represent the fastest-growing segment of the country’s workforce. And it’s estimated that one fourth of American workers will be 55 or older by 2020, up from 19 percent in 2010.
The AP survey found healthier older adults choose to work longer than ever before and even after “retirement,” we don’t exactly retire.
We frequently choose to put off collecting Social Security and retirement benefits while we continue to work at different kinds of jobs and careers.
We know many people who choose to work because they want to continue to be productive and vital, and we’ve been reporting about people who get shut out of the workforce.
Ronald Louis Peterson wrote about the Myths About The Older Worker for ConsumerMojo.com and he explores exactly why it’s a mistake to count us out.
But we also recently began a web video series called Living! that explores the stories of dynamic people over 80. Our first video is with children’s book author, poet and artist Ann McGovern. We think she an inspiration and hope that you agree.
There are so many 55+ older workers who still want to work and get turned away because of their age.
You’re right Marilyn and it’s a shame. It seems inevitable that there will have to be sea change in the workplace because there are so many of us. We need to continue to speak up.