Disability, according to the ADA definition, includes those with a physical or mental impairment limiting one or more major life activities, with a history of or being seen as having an impairment. Thus, understanding how assistive devices and adaptive technologies can be used to compensate for disabilities is critical to accommodating an aging work force. The onset of a disability often triggers an exit from the work force that leads to “total” retirement. This occurred in tandem with technological advances and the growth of jobs in the service sector, both of which widened employment possibilities for those with disabilities.Īs the work force ages, the number of people with a disabling health condition will increase. The passage of the ADA shifted the focus of disability policy in the United States from eligibility for public income transfers to ending discrimination and removing barriers (employers are to make “reasonable accommodations”) that prevent people with disabilities from obtaining or remaining in paid work ( Burkhauser and Daly, 2002). The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which became law in 1990, also has important implications for the employability of older people. SOURCE: Board of Trustees, Federal Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Fund (1997, p. Past and projected older adults per 100 workers age 20-64. In addition, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act was amended in 1986 to eliminate a mandatory retirement age for most occupational groups. The practice of reducing Social Security benefits when a person has earnings and has reached the normal retirement age has been eliminated, and the delayed retirement benefit for those who first claim benefits after normal retirement age is steadily being increased. For example, the Social Security Act was amended in 1983 to gradually increase the minimum age of full benefits for retirement from 65 to 67. Currently, approximately 15 million American workers are involved in some type of caregiving for an older relative such as a parent or spouse ( Family Caregiver Alliance, 2002).īecause of the projected increase in the aged dependency ratio (the ratio of the population age 65 and older to the working-age population age 20-64) (see Figure 6-2) and the average length of retirement, there have also been several changes in retirement policies to create incentives to work longer. The Cornell Retirement and Well-Being Study ( Dentinger and Clarkberg, 2002) found that women caring for their husbands were five times more likely to retire than those without such care responsibilities. Programs like these may be especially beneficial for working caregivers who often need to decrease their work hours or have flexible work schedules to meet their caregiving responsibilities. In response, growing numbers of employers are providing a variety of options to bridge the passage from full-time career employment to full-time (complete) retirement (e.g., Watson Wyatt Worldwide, 1999). Instead of full-time leisure, workers and retirees in their 50s, 60s, and 70s (what Moen calls the “midcourse” years) are increasingly seeking more work options: reduced hours, more time off over the year, special project or contract work, part-time work, and even the opportunity to start second (or third) careers (including unpaid community service). Many workers view the years approaching retirement as a time for “midcourse corrections” ( Moen and Freedman, 2003) rather than a final exit from employment. Most older workers, according to a variety of studies (e.g., AARP, 2002), say they would prefer to continue to be engaged in some kind of work following their retirement, and a significant number of fulltime retirees say they would like to be employed. Retirement from one's full-time, primary career job can no longer be assumed to occur at the time of workers' eligibility for Social Security benefits or to mean the total cessation of paid employment. The traditional assumption that “retirement” from career jobs is isomorphic with workers' final exit from the labor force is increasingly obsolete, as people in their 50s, 60s, and 70s move in and out of paid (and unpaid) work. Recently the trend experienced in the 1970s and early 1980s of workers permanently leaving the work force “early” has reversed ( Costa, 1998 Purcell, 2002 Quinn, 2002). Labor-force participation rates for older workers, by sex, 1948-2015.
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