Is Retirement Now A Myth?

The U.S. workforce is aging rapidly, with older Americans increasing their share, driving changes in benefit plans and employer strategies.

The share of U.S. workers aged 65 and older actively participating in the labor force has increased dramatically within the past two decades.

Recent findings from the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) reveals labor force participation rates for aged 65 and older rose from 23% in 2000 to 29.5% in 2023, Housing Wire reports.

The trend reveals the need for employers to adapt their benefit plans to better support an aging and increasingly age-diverse workforce — where four unique generations are found working together on projects.

Labor force participation among Americans aged 55 to 64 has not only recovered post-pandemic, but has surpassed pre-pandemic levels. This also points to signs indicating that older workers are both returning to the workforce and prolonging retirement.

Meanwhile, the participation rate for those 65 and older has remained steady, revealing the increase may have hit a plateau within this specific age group.

The labor market is nearing the moment when Generation Z surpasses the total number of Baby Boomers participating in the workforce, an economic switchup estimated to occur over the course of this year.

The data varies when looking at trends among genders. Men aged 60 to 64 saw an increase in participation in 2022 and 2023, while women in the same age bracket experienced a decline in 2023.

Labor force participation among women aged 55 to 59 and 70 to 74, however, rose during this period. Those aged 75 and older saw a decrease in labor force participating participation and remained below the pre-pandemic levels observed in 2019.

These trends require employers to take a careful look at employee benefit plans to better accommodate older workers’ needs, encompassing health benefits, flexible working conditions, and retirement planning options.