Could Working a Little After '70' Become Routine?

March 20, 2019

Could Working a Little After '70' Become Routine?

Some baby boomers and Gen Xers hope that they can work into their seventies. Is that hope unfounded? It may not be. Consider the nation’s shifting generational demographics, and how they may reshape the workforce.

In 2035, Americans older than 65 will outnumber Americans younger than 18 for the first time, and by the mid-2030s, the percentage of physically demanding jobs may be lower than it is now. Jobs in information and service technologies could predominate – an ideal environment for highly educated adults who see no reason to stop being productive. Many of these seniors will be aware that the longer you can put off claiming Social Security in your sixties, the larger the monthly benefits are expected to be – currently, they are projected to be as much as 75% larger when claimed at the latest possible age of 70 versus age 62. Evidence suggests that the population of employed Americans is already skewing older. As a Forbes article notes, the percentage of working men aged 65-69 increased by 10% from 1995 to 2016; for women aged 65-69, the increase was 12%. Once again, baby boomers could defy expectations.²