Employers Need to Know about Older Workers
It would seem serendipitous: Just as a prolonged labor crunch is anticipated, some of the most experienced and reliable workers around — those near retirement age — are planning to make themselves available. But companies that just assume their older workers are going to stay put indefinitely could be making a big mistake.
Older people are working past traditional retirement age for a multitude of reasons, according to Employee Benefit Research Institute.
Socking away more cash and continued access to health insurance are especially crucial, so employers hoping to lure older workers should make sure that defined benefit retirement plans such as 401(k) plans and health insurance remain attractive and affordable. And with health care a growing worry for those approaching retirement, consider extending health benefits to retirees if you don’t already do so; it’s a hard-to-find benefit attracts and reassures often-anxious older workers.
But financial security is not the only reason so many older workers are returning to — or remaining in the workforce. “There also is an increased desire among Americans to work longer, particularly among those with more education, for whom more meaningful jobs are available that can be done well into older ages,” EBRI says.
Photo by MSDesigns.
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