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The Aging Of The American Workforce, Sara E. Rix

Chicago-Kent Law Review

The decades immediately following World War II saw a sharp decline in the labor force participation rates of older Americans, due largely to the ever earlier retirement of men. While older persons in search of work have long faced formidable barriers finding it, during the post-war years, the country was becoming richer and using some of the increased wealth to purchase later-life leisure. About twenty years ago, participation rates at upper ages stopped declining and have been inching upward since then. The coming insolvency of the Social Security system, potential labor and skills shortages, and inadequate retirement savings are among …