Civic Ventures :: Catching the Wave - The Journalists' Guide

Boomers and Work

Best Employers and Best Practices

"2009 Best Employers For Workers Over 50" – Coming out at the top of the list for the AARP 2009 Best Employers for Workers over 50 are: Cornell University, First Horizon National Corporation, National Institutes of Health, The YMCA of Greater Rochester National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, S. C. Johnson & Son, Inc., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanley Consultants, Brevard Public Schools, George Mason University. (2009) – [VIEW]
"Older Workers On the Move: Recareering in Later Life" – Recareering, or career change, is common at older ages. Workers who change careers typically move into jobs that pay less and offer fewer benefits. However, the new careers tend to offer more flexible work arrangements, less stressful working conditions, and fewer managerial responsibilities. For workers interested in delaying retirement after long careers, such jobs may be just what they are looking for. (2009) – [VIEW]
"AARPs Best Employers for Workers Over 50 list" – Selected articles, including "AARPs Best Employers for Workers Over 50 list" are available at the site. (2008) – [VIEW]
"The 'Eldercare Generation' Cares About Continuing to Work: Are Companies Interested in Keeping Them?" (2007) – [VIEW]
AARP - Best Employers for 50+ – News release (2005) – [VIEW]
AARP - Staying Ahead of the Curve 2004: Employer Best Practices for Mature Workers – This report, based primarily on an extensive review of the applications submitted by winning companies in 2002, 2003 and 2004, identifies best practices among the winning companies and categorizes the practices within a framework designed to help employers determine which methods they should adopt to attract the mature workforce. (2004) – [VIEW]
AARP - "Sources of Income for Older Persons in 2003" – This AARP Public Policy Institute Data Digest analyzes income sources for persons age 65 and older in 2003 and the distribution of each income source by gender, race, and personal income level. (1995) – [VIEW]

Job Listings for Older Workers

"Online Job Networks for the 55-Plus Crowd" – Faced with the prospect of millions of retiring baby boomers, companies across the country are increasingly eager to lure back to the workforce retirees with decades of experience in their chosen fields. But finding the right candidates has been tricky, with most companies relying on personal connections to locate willing older workers. Now, online retirement networks are springing up to put employers in contact with job seekers age 55 and older. At sites such as YourEncore.com and SeniorJobBank.com, older adults are logging on to find consulting projects and salaried jobs in areas as diverse as engineering, biotechnology and finance. (2006) – [VIEW]
The Phoenix Link – Connects experienced executives and technologists with interim and full time management positions. – [VIEW]
Retired Brains – Connects retiring or retired seniors with employers, provides information on charitable organizations and non-profits looking for senior volunteers. – [VIEW]
Your Encore, Inc. – A Service Provider recruiting a talent network of retired high quality scientists, engineers, and product developers who are available to solve problems on a time bound, short-term basis. – [VIEW]
Score – A nonprofit organization offering advice and training to small businesses. Volunteers are working/retired business owners, executives and corporate leaders who share their wisdom and lessons learned in business. – [VIEW]
Senior Job Bank – Job listings for older workers, including occasional, part-time, temporary, flexible, and full-time opportunities – [VIEW]
Philanthropy News Digest Job Corner – Openings at foundations, grantmaking public charities, corporate grantmaking programs, and nonprofit organizations – [VIEW]
The Chronicle of Philanthropy's Philanthropy Careers – Job listings primarily in foundations – [VIEW]
OpportunityKnocks.org – Search for nonprofit jobs by keyword or multiple criteria – [VIEW]
Community Career Center – Searchable job openings in nonprofit organizations – [VIEW]
National Organizers Alliance – Job listings in organizations that work for social, economic, and environmental justice – [VIEW]
Monster.com – Large general job site including special section with advice and resources for older workers – [VIEW]
Idealist.org – Lists jobs and internships in nonprofit organizations, plus tips on finding work in the nonprofit sector – [VIEW]
Energize, Inc. – Listings of jobs and internships related to volunteer management – [VIEW]
ExecSearches.com – Executive, fundraising, and mid-level jobs in nonprofit, government, health care, education, and other not-for-profit sectors – [VIEW]
CharityChannel Career Search Online – An on-line position recruitment system dedicated exclusively to the nonprofit/NGO sector. – [VIEW]
Bridgestar – Listings of senior staff and board positions in nonprofit organizations – [VIEW]

Press Coverage

"The 'Eldercare Generation' Cares About Continuing to Work: Are Companies Interested in Keeping Them?" (2007) – [VIEW]
"How Boomers Really Feel" – Money Magazine's survey of nearly 3,000 boomers found that they are reinventing the American dream, emphasizing friends and family over making money, having fun over working hard, and making a difference in the community and the world. (2007) – [VIEW]
"Dorm food and pop quizzes decades after most of their peers" – Increasing numbers of baby boomers are heading back to school to earn degrees. Colleges and universities are finding that older students are more likely that younger students to be driven by a desire to help others. Further, a study by the Met Life Foundation and Civic Ventures found that half of adults between the ages of 50 and 70 say they are interested in taking jobs now or in the future that help improve the quality of life in their communities. (2006) – [VIEW]
"Women's top retirement strategy often is to stay on the job" – Nearly 12% of women 65 and older are now in the workforce, up from 8% in 1980, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, even though the average woman now retires at 62, according to the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College. In coming years, millions of today's female baby boomers will find that working longer may be the only way to avoid falling into poverty in their elder years. (2006) – [VIEW]
"Going Your Own Way: Baby boomers are rewriting the rules of retirement again. This time they're tapping their nest eggs as entrepreneurs" (2006) – [VIEW]
"New Breed of Entrepreneurs" – Say goodbye to the golden years and hello to spread sheets. Baby boomers are joining the small business boom. Civic Ventures President Marc Freedman is interviewed. (2006) – [VIEW]
USA TODAY, "Retirees back at work, with flexibility" (2005) – [VIEW]
NPR's Talk of the Nation, "A Changing American Workplace, as Boomers Retire" (2005) – [VIEW]
Business Week, "Old, Smart, Productive; Surprise! The Graying of the Workforce is Better News Than You Think" (2005) – [VIEW]
CNN - "Corporations woo baby boomers" (2005) – [VIEW]

Speeches/podcasts

"Who Will Hire Me When I'm 64? - Challenges in Increasing the Employment of Older Workers – A podcast from the Urban Institute with presentations from: the Urban Institute, U.S. Government Accountability Office, Workplace Flexibility 2010, and Experience Works Inc. (2007) – [VIEW]
AARP - Novelli Speech on Older Workers (2004) – [VIEW]
AARP - Bill Novelli Speech on Boomers and Retirement, (2001) – [VIEW]

Research Centers/Organizations

Civic Ventures (2005) – [VIEW]
"Working in Retirement" - Schwab's Rethinking Retirement Survey – Schwab's Rethinking Retirement Survey polled representatives of Generation Y (ages 13-31), Generation X (ages 32-43), Baby Boomers (ages 44-62) and the Silent Generation (ages 63-83). Among the findings: 71 percent of pre-retirees want to work at least part-time in retirement. They prefer part-time, flex-time and a better overall balance between work and leisure. Among those who plan to work in retirement, 60 percent are interested in a different line of work. (2009) – [VIEW]
Aging and Work Facts Database – The Aging & Work Facts database is available publicly for a limited time before being limited to Center Partners & Affiliates, and members of the Center's research team. This database will allow members to access individual facts searchable by topic; obtain brief descriptions of studies connected to facts and powerpoint-ready graphics; and full citations. After July 1, 2008, the database will be accessible only through a password protected web page. (2008) – [VIEW]
Stanford Center on Longevity – n less than one century, life expectancy increased by an average of 30 years in developed regions of the world. Combined with a reduction in fertility rates across the same period, the changes in age distribution now under way in the population - both nationally and internationally - are dramatic and unprecedented. The aim of the Center is to use increased life expectancy to bring about profound advances in the quality of life from early childhood to old age. (2008) – [VIEW]
The Center on Aging & Work/Workplace Flexibility at Boston College – The Center on Aging & Work/Workplace Flexibility at Boston College focuses on aging and work. The Center works in partnership with decision-makers at the workplace to design and implement rigorous investigations that will help American businesses prepare for the opportunities and challenges associated with the aging workforce. The Center is conducting a series of studies that are examining the adoption, implementation and utilization of flexible work options by older workers. Marcie Pitt-Catsouphes Ph.D., Director Phone: 617.552.4033 Fax: 617.552.9202 (2006) – [VIEW]
AARP - Employer Resource Center (2003) – [VIEW]
International Longevity Center (2001) – [VIEW]
BLS (2000) – [VIEW]

Reports/Writing

"The Pressures of Talent Management" – This report from the Center on Aging & Work looks at whether employers in today's tough economy are gathering the information they need about their employees and their organizations' future skill-set requirements that will help them better understand how shifts in the age makeup of the workforce might affect their organizations. The report also explores what action steps organizations are taking to adapt to the 21st-century workforce. (2009) – [VIEW]
"Bridge Employment and Retirees' Health: A Longitudinal Investigation" – This study found that older people who hold temporary or part-time jobs after retirement enjoy better physical and mental health than those who stop working entirely. Those who continue to work in their original field also have better mental health than those who change fields. The researchers interviewed 12,189 participants, aged 51 to 61, every two years over a six-year period beginning in 1992 about their health, finances, employment and retirement. (2009) – [VIEW]
"Buddy Can You Spare a Job? - The MetLife Study of the New Realities of the Job Market for Aging Baby Boomers" – This study combines interviews with 24 leading older-worker job coaches and employment agencies, 21 older employees (retirees and job seekers), and a national survey of 1,242 employed/retired/job-seeking adults ages 55 to 70. These expert observations, personal experiences, and national data explore the disconnect between those in their late fifties and sixties who aspire to continue working and the realities of a job market that tends to treat many older job candidates as, at best, irrelevant. It also shows what aging Boomers will have to do in the next few years to be successful in the changing employment market. (2009) – [VIEW]
"Rising Senior Unemployment and the Need to Work at Older Ages" – Unemployment rates for older workers reached record levels in 2009, partly because fewer workers eligible for early retirement benefits are dropping out of the labor force. Growing concerns about the adequacy of retirement savings and whether retirees will have enough money to live comfortably in later life appear to have discouraged early retirement. Instead, more older workers are now remaining in the labor force and searching for work after they lose their jobs. The need for older adults to keep working raises the imperative for new policies that help address the special challenges that older job seekers face. (2009) – [VIEW]
"Older Workers: Employment and Retirement Trends" – As the members of the "baby boom" generation--people born between 1946 and 1964--approach retirement, the demographic profile of the U.S. workforce will undergo a substantial shift as a large number of older workers will be joined by relatively few new entrants to the labor force. According to the Census Bureau, there will be 204 million Americans aged 25 or older in 2010. By 2030, this number will increase by 23% to more than 251 million. Most of this growth will occur among people aged 65 and older. (2009) – [VIEW]
"Unemployment Statistics on Older Americans: Updated, 9/09" – The recession has increased joblessness among older Americans. These graphs and tables report unemployment rates and how they have varied by age, sex, race, and education since 2007. (2009) – [VIEW]
"Unemployment Statistics on Older Americans" – The recession has increased joblessness among older Americans. These graphs and tables report unemployment rates and how they have varied by age, sex, race, and education since 2007. (2009) – [VIEW]
"Recession Turns a Graying Office Grayer" – The American work force is graying -- and not just because the American population itself is graying. Older adults are staying in the labor force longer, and younger adults are staying out of it longer. According to one government estimate, 93% of the growth in the U.S. labor force from 2006 to 2016 will be among workers ages 55 and older. A new nationwide survey by the Pew Research Center's Social & Demographic Trends project finds that a majority (54%) of workers ages 65 and older say the main reason they work is that they want to. Just 17% say the main reason is that they need the paycheck. An additional 27% say they're motivated by a mix of desire and need. (2009) – [VIEW]
"Older Low-Income Workers Face Historic Crisis" – In this study of 2,000 low-income unemployed workers age 55 and older, 46 percent need to find jobs so they don't lose their homes or apartments, and approximately half (49 percent) have been looking for work for more than a year. In July 2009, there were two million unemployed workers age 55 plus; the unemployment rate for this age group was the highest since the Bureau of Labor Statistics began tabulating data by age in 1948. The perfect storm - a recessed economy, increased competition for jobs, and age-related employment barriers - has created a crisis for America's older low-income workers. (2009) – [VIEW]
"Work Status of People 65 Years and Older: 2008 American Community Survey" – According to 2008 U.S. Census Bureau projections, the 65-and-older population is projected to increase by 79 percent from 2010 to 2030, representing 19 percent of the total population by 2030. In 2008, 15.5 percent of the 65-and-older population participated in the labor force. Of those aged 65 and older participating in the labor force, some have retired from full-time, year-round employment but continue to work part-time either to pursue other work-related interests or supplement their income from savings and social security. Others continue to work full-time, year-round due to a lack of desire to retire or inadequate (2009) – [VIEW]
HRS - Health and Retirement study – Within the publicly available material of this reports is a wealth of data, including biennial datasets, longitudinal datasets, off-year studies and sensitive health data (2009) – [VIEW]
"Phased Retirement - Legal and Research Summary Sheet – This report provides legal and other research data about employers' and workers' experience with phased retirement. (2009) – [VIEW]
"Older Population in the United States: 2007 and 2008" – These reports use data from the Current Population Survey to extensively detail (in Excel tables) information about adults aged 55 plus. Categories include: occupations, household income, poverty status, mobility, ethnicity, and more. For 2007 results, see http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/age/older_2007.html (2009) – [VIEW]
"The Coming Entrepreneurship Boom" – The US may be on the cusp of an entrepreneurship boom, not in spite of the aging population, but because of it. Among this study's findings: the highest rate of entrepreneurial activity belongs Boomers aged 55 to 64; In every single year from 1996 to 2007, Americans between the ages of 55 and 64 had a higher rate of entrepreneurial activity than those aged 20-34; and during that entire period, the 55-64 group averaged a rate of entrepreneurial activity roughly one-third larger than their youngest counterparts. (2009) – [VIEW]
"50+ Hispanic Workers: A Growing Segment of the U.S. Workforce" – Hispanics represent one of the fastest growing segments of the older population, and thus could be an important target for employer efforts to attract and retain older workers. This report examines older Hispanic workers and the contributions they make to employers and the economy. It describes the older Hispanic population and documents the work experiences of older Hispanics - the number and share that are employed, where they work, and how much they earn - and their attitudes toward work. (2009) – [VIEW]
"Older Workers On the Move: Recareering in Later Life" – Recareering, or career change, is common at older ages. Workers who change careers typically move into jobs that pay less and offer fewer benefits. However, the new careers tend to offer more flexible work arrangements, less stressful working conditions, and fewer managerial responsibilities. For workers interested in delaying retirement after long careers, such jobs may be just what they are looking for. (2009) – [VIEW]
"Why are Older orkers at greGreater Risk of Displacement?" – This brief analyzes changes in the displacement of older and prime-age workers since the mid-1990s and the effect of three factors - tenure, educational attainment, and employment in manufacturing - identified as having a significant effect on displacement risk. The results show that all three factors contributed to the rising dislocation risk older workers face and their rising risk vis-à-vis prime-age workers. (2009) – [VIEW]
"Older Workers on the Move: Recareering in Later Life" – This report looks into the factors that cause older workers to "recareer" or to change jobs, often moving into a new field. The report examines practical impacts, including wage and benefit changes in recareering, along with recareering rates and predetermining factors for moving into a new industry past mid-life. (2009) – [VIEW]

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