Older Workers Are Stuck in Tough, Risky Jobs

What You Need to Know

For many of the significant number of older Americans earning modest wages in physically demanding jobs, retirement is an elusive goal.
A new report suggests it is “misguided and unrealistic” to expect these workers to keep working into advanced old age.
A better way to close the retirement income gap, experts say, is to ensure that all jobs come with retirement benefits.

A slight majority of Americans over the age of 50 now report having physically demanding jobs, meaning they feel their work is either physically taxing, stress-inducing or outright dangerous.

In fact, according to a major new analysis and accompanying chart book published by the Economic Policy Institute, some 50.3% of older workers say they have physically demanding jobs, while an even larger majority (54.2%) of older workers report being exposed to unhealthy or hazardous conditions at work.

Other topline findings show 53.7% of older workers have difficult schedules, while 46.1% of older workers have high-pressure jobs. What’s more, according to the EPI, more and more older workers increasingly feel “trapped in crummy jobs,” left physically drained by their work but unable to plan for retirement thanks to a dearth of earnings and savings.

Speaking about these findings during a webinar put on by the EPI to introduce the new research, Teresa Ghilarducci, the influential economics professor at the New School for Social Research, called on policymakers in Washington and the states to act to head off what she described as a “true crisis” for many older workers.

As Ghilarducci pointed out, even before the COVID-19 pandemic, more than 50% of low-income older households ages 55 to 64 were financially fragile — up dramatically from the 35% found to be at risk of financial insecurity in 1992.

“There is a looming retirement crisis in the United States,” Ghilarducci warned. “Millions of people are entering their retirement years with insufficient savings to cover basic expenses and medical bills.”

According to Ghilarducci, in response to these concerns, some policymakers have proposed that older Americans could delay retirement to increase their savings, while others have insisted that the full Social Security claiming age should be raised to 70.

Ghilarducci said the new EPI data shows “just how unrealistic” such solutions are for the U.S. workforce, and she called on government leaders and the business community to consider alternative solutions that will not require more Americans to stick with physically taxing jobs beyond the traditional retirement ages of 62 or 65.

What the Data Show

As the report spells out, assuming similar educational attainment levels and many more years of experience, one might expect older workers to have “better” jobs than prime-age workers, meaning jobs that pay more and require less physically demanding tasks.

This is true, on average, according to the EPI analysis, but the differences are much smaller than might be expected, and many older workers remain in difficult jobs that do not pay an adequate wage to allow for successful retirement preparations.

Specifically, of the six categories of difficult working conditions discussed in the report, older workers experience on average 2.6 of them, while prime-age workers experience 3.1. This means older workers are indeed slightly less likely than prime-age workers to have physically demanding jobs or be exposed to uncomfortable or hazardous environments.

The Big Picture

According to the EPI, policymakers and researchers often assume that older workers who do not have the financial means to retire can simply continue working. But for many, working into old age is not a sustainable option. This is particularly true for those whose working conditions put them at higher risk as they age, the report warns.

As the report points out, workers who exit the workforce early often do so before they are ready to retire. The data suggests, in fact, that most workers who retire before age 65 do so involuntarily, with retirement preceded by poor health or disability; by a layoff, business closure, or ownership change; or by changes in working conditions or compensation.

Ultimately, while older workers’ exposure to risk might be slightly lower than that of prime-age workers on a statistical basis, the repercussions are often much more serious.

“This is certainly true of accidental injuries and illnesses such as COVID-19, which are much more likely to be fatal for older workers,” the report warns. “This is likely also true of many stressors that affect health, such as working nights.”

As the report explains, some occupations are clearly more dangerous than others, as measured by injury rates, the wear and tear associated with physical labor, and the cumulative impact of exposure to toxic substances. At the same time, though, it can be challenging to differentiate between the effects of working conditions and socioeconomic status.

The big takeaway, according to the EPI, is that it is “misguided and unrealistic” to expect older workers with onerous or hazardous jobs to keep working into advanced old age. The report suggests a better way to close the retirement income gap is to support workers’ ability to be fully employed during their prime working years and ensure that all jobs come with benefits that lead to a secure retirement.

“Ways to support workers include pursuing full-employment macroeconomic policies, providing more support for workers with caregiving responsibilities, and expanding Social Security,” the report concludes. “All workers would also be helped by stronger health and safety protections.”