Retirement, Slipping Farther and Farther Away (New York Times)

Since 1996, the percentage of American workers ages 60 to 64 either working or looking for work went from 45.8% to 54.5% in 2011. Americans in their 60s and 70s clearly want—or need—to work, but the number of them able to find work is falling. In 2011, 6.8% of workers 60 to 64 were unemployed compared to just 3% in the late 1990s, according to a recent Gallup survey. This is worrisome not just for the workers and their families, but for government budgets, too. Older Americans are becoming more and more dependent on Social Security and other public services. The survey found that 33% of American nonretirees expect Social Security to be a “major source of income” for them in their old age. That’s up from 27% 10 years ago.