Last year, the retirement rate of workers over 61 slowed down for the first time since 2012, according to Bloomberg. This means that workforce participation has steadied, at least for now.
The top reasons the Boomer generation is retiring later are:
- they have to financially,
- their health allows them to continue working, and
- they believe in the work they’re doing and want to continue it.
This trend is beneficial because the generation now entering the workforce is not large enough as a whole to replace Boomers if they retired “on time.” So, the longer Boomers put off retiring, the higher the workforce participation rate remains. This prevents a huge worker shortage, which could be damaging to the economy and the GDP.
Source: Bloomberg, How Older Workers Could Help Save America From Workforce Peril
