When are you too old to work or too old to be hired?
According to many employers, age 62 is the breaking point for employment, and age 58 is the breaking point for employment.
So the question arises: which planet are they on?
“Many employers are focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion, but they may be overlooking age in their hiring efforts,” says the Transamerica Institute and Transamerica, which conducted a recent study. said Katherine Collinson, CEO and President of the Center for Retirement Research.
By 2023, approximately one in five Americans over the age of 65 will be employed, four times as many as in the mid-1980s. This equates to approximately 11 million workers.
Their average working hours are longer than in previous decades. According to the Pew Research Center, 62% of older workers now work full-time, up from 47% in 1987. And he is more likely to earn a four-year college degree than they were before.
“Older workers want and need to work beyond traditional retirement age,” Collinson said. “They may not be financially ready to retire, but they may enjoy their current job. However, they can only succeed if their employer is welcoming and supportive.” .”
This is an obstacle because workers of all ages need to constantly develop and add to their skills to keep up with new technologies in order to stay on the job.
“What remains unanswered is how to prepare this segment of the workforce for the ever-changing nature of work,” said WorkingNation Editor-in-Chief Ramona Schindelheim. told Yahoo Finance. “Training and upskilling is still aimed at the younger generation.”
More than half of employers say their company culture “emphasizes the professional growth and development of employees of all ages, including those over 50,” according to Transamerica data. Only 2 out of 10 people say they place great importance on it. ”
“If we don't think about this part of the workforce, we're concerned that these older workers will not have the opportunity for advancement and will be relegated to lower-wage, lower-skill jobs,” Schindelheim said. said.
Unemployment rate is low for workers aged 55 and over
Historically, employers' hiring practices have ignored older workers, but the paper found that more than half of companies with job openings in the past year “quite a lot” or “quite a lot” considered candidates over 50. I answered that I did. Transamerica Institute's “Workplace Transformation” report.
That's encouraging. While the word “consideration” doesn't necessarily mean winning a position, there is new evidence that this era of executive workers has a chance to get hired. The unemployment rate for workers 55 and older fell to 2.6% last month from 2.8% in February, according to the latest report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is the lowest level since July last year.
Less cynically, it may have something to do with the relatively tight labor market, where employers are scrambling to fill talent who are still available. Pushing expiration dates.
Suzanne Cooner, 68, CEO of Audubon County Memorial Hospital and Clinics in Audubon, Iowa, said, “Qualified workers are more difficult to find in rural areas, so it's difficult to retain older workers.'' and jobs have become extremely important to our organization,” he told Yahoo Finance.
To make the workplace more senior-friendly, hospitals have reduced biweekly work hours from 72 to 60 hours to qualify for full-time benefits, and now offer job-sharing, phased retirement, and post-retirement programs. offers reemployment opportunities and retraining.
Al Komito, 62, the hospital's chief information officer, was hired last year. For Comito, it's not just the income that matters. “I've been planning for retirement for a long time, and I'm at a point where I feel financially secure,” he told Yahoo Finance. “If I didn't enjoy what I do, I wouldn't be doing it. It gives me a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction…and it gives me purpose.”
Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, is having trouble finding qualified people to fill vacancies. “We had to start thinking about looking for candidates in places we had never explored before,” Maureen de Armond, executive director of human resources, told Yahoo Finance.
“For example, in our recruitment process, we are now thinking more carefully about narrowing down the list of required qualifications. We don't need to bring new employees on board with all the skills they have, as long as they are willing to learn. Maybe not,” she said.
Is it age-friendly?
The Transamerica report also found that while nearly 9 in 10 employers consider themselves age-friendly, fewer workers agree and believe their employers are age-friendly. Only 7 out of 10 people do.
The most frequently mentioned programs offered by the company include traditional and/or reverse mentorship (50%), vocational training (44%), and internships for individuals starting or re-employed (40%). , and professional development programs (35%). .
What has been delayed is providing work arrangements that allow older employees to work longer hours and earn more. These include phased retirement options, flexible work schedules, and allowing employees to dial back their hours and shift from full-time to part-time, or take a less stressful or demanding job. included.
This adaptability is important because the majority of baby boomers are heading into retirement, followed by Generation X, and many expect to transition into gradual rather than temporary retirement.
Despite this, the majority of employers, approximately 6 in 10, do not offer a formal phased retirement program for workers who wish to transition into retirement.
Only half of employers are willing to accommodate flexible work schedules to help employees with their retirement transition. And some, 3 in 10, favor shifting older workers who want to stay in the workforce to jobs that are less stressful and demanding.
The workforce is aging
Age discrimination is so ingrained in so many companies and their hiring practices that one wonders what it will take for recruiters to recognize that older workers are their future. Dew. Demographic changes require it.
According to data from the World Health Organization, the pace of population aging is much faster than in the past. In 2020, the number of people aged 60 and over exceeded the number of children under 5. Between 2015 and 2050, its share of the world's population in 60 years will almost double from 12% to 22%.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, between 2022 and 2032, the labor force participation rate for the 55- to 64-year-old age group is projected to increase by more than 3 percent, and the same for the 65- to 74-year-old age group. It is. The 75+ age group is expected to grow significantly, reaching 9.9% in 2032. People in this class are twice as likely to work as they were 40 years ago. Over the same period, employment of younger workers is likely to decline.
Marlene Hoiltz, a benefits specialist at Drake University, has worked at the university for more than 20 years and doesn't feel like she's too old to continue working. “I enjoy my job,” the 64-year-old told Yahoo Finance. “It’s the people that keep me at Drake, even when I’m starting to think about retirement.”
Kelly Hannon is a senior columnist at Yahoo Finance. She is a career and retirement strategist and the author of 14 of her books, including “The World's Best.''Taking Control Even Over 50: How to Succeed in the New World of Work.” and “You’re never too old to get rich.” Follow her on X @Kellyhannon.
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