Focusing on the increasing aged population, this article looks at the old population as they continue to participate within the work force well into retirement years. 65% of well-educated older american workers are working significantly longer period than their only high-school degree counterparts 32%. By working into their retirement, older educated workers are able to reap the rewards from their skill for much longer, increasing their savings for a future period or to give through inheritance. This will contribute to inequality as that inheritance gets passed down. Over the next 20 years the population of 60 year olds will double and will mean many more people collecting pensions, while the higher educated work force will be able to increase the productivity, this will hurt other countries with high population of uneducated workforce like China. Technological advance will allow for more skill from the older population, requiring less physical work to be done and more mentally based. This differs from manual labor which become more difficult as the body ages.
A Billion Shades of Grey
3 comments:
I can see how this would be beneficial, especially compared to other countries who have a less educated work force. However, if people are retiring at an older age, it makes it more difficult for younger, educated people to enter the work force and gain experience.
Raising retirement age is one of the ways to solve the problem of social security and pension systems around the world. Another solution is to privatize it and let the funds be invested in the stock market. It is a much more riskier option but offers higher returns and solves the problem of not enough money coming for pensions.
Both sides have compelling arguments. Younger workers have a more natural skill for using newer technology which benefits many millennial age job seekers due to the growing demand for computer science and technology related workers; older workers from our baby boomer generation are working into their retirement age and stimulating our industries from their experience and knowledge. However, the growing gap between skilled and less-skilled is a big concern, especially as more of our youth are gaining opportunities for higher education and the baby boomer generation comes closer to their inevitable retirement date.
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