New Data Confirms Americans Working Through
Retirement
September 16, 2008 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - An analysis
of new Census Bureau data by the Congressional Research
Service (CRS) confirms earlier theories that Americans will
work longer than in previous generations - either by choice
or because they have to.
According to an updated CRS summary of older
workers' employment trends,
52% of men aged 62 to 64 were employed in March
2008, compared to 43% in 1995 and 42% in 1990. Of men
aged 65 to 69, 33% were employed in March 2008, compared
to 27% in 1995 and 26% in 1990.
The CRS report said among women 62 to 64 years old,
41% were working in March 2008, compared with 32% in 1995
and 28% in 1990, where among women 65 to 69 years old,
27% were working in March 2008, compared with 17% in 1995
and 1990.
Not only are more elderly Americans working, more
have full-time jobs, according to the CRS report. In
March 2008, 82% of employed men aged 62 to 64 were
working full time, compared with 77% in 1995 and
1990.
Seventy-two percent of men aged 65 to 69 who were
working in March 2008 were employed full-time, compared
to 57% in 1995 and 56% in 1990. Among working women aged
62 to 64, 65% worked full time in March 2008, compared
with 60% in both 1995 and 1990, where among working women
aged 65 to 69, 55% were employed full-time in March 2008,
compared to 43% in 1995 and 44% in 1990.
The Census Bureau data also confirmed the notion of
a "phased retirement" where workers go to part-time jobs
instead of stopping work altogether. Some 37% of men and
35% of women aged 55 to 64 who received income from a
pension in 2007 were employed in March 2008, according to
the CRS report (See
Report: Employers
Still Wrestling with Phased Retirement Issues
).
The Pension Protection Act allows pension plans to
begin paying benefits to workers who have not yet
separated from their employers at the earlier age of 62,
or the pension plan's normal retirement age, which in
most plans is 65.
Fred Schneyer
editors@plansponsor.com