More Americans Age 55 and Older Are Working Full Time

An increasing percentage of older Americans are in the labor force, likely because of the need to obtain affordable employment-based health insurance, according to this article by the Employee Benefit Research Institute.

These trends mark a significant change in behavior for individuals age 55 and older, the article says, and are likely driven by their need to obtain affordable employment-based health insurance (as opposed to unaffordable or unavailable coverage in the individual market) and the need to continue to accumulate savings in employment-based defined contribution retirement plans.


Both trends of increased labor force participation and increased full-time, full-year work are likely to continue, since private-sector employers have been phasing out retiree health insurance for younger workers and are continuing to shift out of defined benefit pensions and into defined contribution retirement plans.