Wednesday, October 02, 2013

Why Are More Older Men Working?

The labor force participation rate of men aged 60 to 74 climbed from 33 percent in 1993 (a post-World-War-II low) to 44 percent in 2010. What accounts for this 11 percentage point increase? Are older men more likely to work because they haven't saved enough for retirement, or is it something else?

Most of the rise is accounted for by something else, according to a study by the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College. That something else is their higher educational attainment. The greater educational attainment of men aged 60 to 74 accounts for most of the increase in their labor force participation over the past few decades.

Source: Center for Retirement Research, Can Educational Attainment Explain the Rise in Labor Force Participation at Older Ages?

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