August 30, 2021

Older Workers Struggling to Stay in Workforce

As Americans work longer into their lives due to the extremely high cost of retirement, workers continue to face age discrimination. While some economists posit that COVID is responsible for many Americans retiring against their wishes and earlier than they had expected, this current situation only represents a continuation of an existing pre-pandemic trend.

A new study that reviewed data from 2010-2018 shows the trend is far worse than previously thought. Fifty-five percent of older workers (workers age 55+) in the bottom half of the income distribution were forced to leave the workforce before they had hoped to, with that number only marginally better for middle class workers aged 55+ (32%).

“This study tells us things we already knew–that older workers are being unjustly pushed out of the workforce,” said Joseph Peters, Jr., Secretary-Treasurer of the Alliance. “We must ensure that older workers are not discriminated against. The Senate can help by passing H.R. 2062, the Protecting Older Workers Against Discrimination Act of 2021, as soon as possible.”