Overtime

Abstract

Abstract With an aging population and growing inequality, America is at a crossroads in its approach to work and retirement. Americans live longer and healthier lives than they did 50 years ago and they need income for more years of life. Many policymakers and academics think it is logical – almost inevitable – that Americans will work longer, delay retirement, and spend more of these years in the paid labor force. But as social and economic inequalities have increased over the past four decades in the United States, working-longer policies and expectations that cater to the needs of the “average” American are a poor fit for many. This book calls for a rethinking of the working-longer policy solution. Experts in a wide range of fields examine the evidence and fill in the gaps. Together, they investigate how social and economic inequalities shape people’s capacity to work, the skills and resources they have, the discrimination and other challenges they face, and the benefits that may accrue to them from working longer. And they examine changes across generations or birth cohorts, because the experiences of today’s middle-aged Americans are not the same as the experiences of today’s retirees. This book provides new evidence about the future of working longer in America, drawing on insights from economics, sociology, psychology, organizational behavior, political science, and epidemiology. The final chapter in this volume describes a policy framework to improve the well-being of Americans as they work and retire.