A new study from the AARP discredits widespread myths and misconceptions about age 50 and over employees, showing that they have skills and abilities that can make them key to operating a successful business.

“Just as today’s 50-plus population is disrupting aging and eroding negative stereotypes, today’s 50-plus workforce is adding value by exhibiting traits that are highly sought after in today’s economy,” said AARP CEO Jo Ann Jenkins in her statement on the releasing the 92 page report. “Leading employers across all industries value the expertise and experience of workers 50+ and know that recruiting, retaining and engaging them will improve their business results.”

The report, “A Business Case for Workers Age 50+: A Look at the Value of Experience 2015,” says that the argument for employing older employees has grown even stronger during the last decade, reinforcing a 2005 AARP study that found that these experienced workers are highly motivated, productive and even cost effective.

Researchers claim that this study documents for the “first time why attracting and retaining experienced age 50+ workers is critical for businesses seeking an advantage in the labor market.”

The AARP report comes at a time when experienced workers are playing an increasing role in America’s workplace, research shows. In 2002, workers age 50 and older made up only 24.6 percent of the workforce. By 2012, they were 32.3 percent. By 2022, they are projected to represent 35.4 percent of the nation’s total workforce.

The AARP new study addresses a widespread misconception that older workers cost “significantly more” than younger workers. In fact, adding more talented older employees to your workforce can result in only minimal labor cost increases, says the researchers, noting that 90 percent of large employers now base pay in part on job performance, rather than exclusively on length of employment.

In addition, in terms of retirement costs, only 22 percent of large companies now offer a defined benefit pension plan, down significantly from the 68 percent in 2004.

Looking at the 50-plus segment of the workforce from a performance standpoint, AARP and Aon Hewitt say that older workers remain the most engaged age group. The study reports that 65 percent of workers age 55 and oler are considered “engaged” while younger employee engagement averages 58 to 60 percent.

Although the generational differences in engagement might not seem large, “it takes only a five percent increase in engagement to achieve three percent incremental revenue growth,” the report finds. This can translate into a large company with $5 billion in revenue achieving a $150 million revenue increase as a result of even a five percent engagement improvement, the study says.

An engaged older workforce can influence and enhance organizational productivity and generate improved business outcomes,” says the report. Other advantages of older workers include their job experience, professionalism, strong work ethic, lower turnover, and knowledge.

Contributing to Rhode Island’s Economy

“We have noted in the past the relevance of Rhode Island’s so-called Longevity Economy,” said AARP Rhode Island State Director Kathleen Connell. “Despite being just 36 percent of Rhode Island’s population in 2013 (expected to grow to 38 percent by 2040), the total economic contribution of the state’s 50-plus population accounted for 46% of Rhode Island’s GDP ($24 billion). Now we see another reason to embrace the older population.

Connell notes the “report reinforces the value of older Rhode Islanders as they continue to be a key asset in the workforce. The truth is, that older workers increase labor costs minimally while contributing experience and stability to businesses across the spectrum.

“Many employers in Rhode Island understand this. AARP Rhode Island gets frequent calls from business actively seeking older workers. They know the value and the wisdom they bring to the workplace,” says Connell.

But Oak Hill resident Hank Rosenthal, 64, says of his two year job search, after being laid off, he experienced job discrimination. “Having been interviewed by numerous Human Resource professionals, they just seem incapable of understanding that the years of experience someone has gained is an asset. They seem unable to appreciate that knowledge, experience, and even skills acquired over a lifetime can be transferred and used in virtually any organization or business,” he says.

Rosenthal, now gainfully employed, views his older contemporaries as being “more stable, reliable, have better work ethics and generally make great employees, in line with the observations of the AARP report. With the difficulty in finding employment he believes that companies have not figured this out yet. “What a terrible waste of human capital,” he says.

According to Charles Fogarty, Director of the Division of Elderly Affairs (DEA), the recently released AARP study helps his agency spread this message, “older workers are expected to play a key role in sparking Rhode Island’s comeback.”

“We support policies and programs to help this crucial segment remain active in the labor force by connecting older workers to services and training,” says Fogarty, noting that AARP’s study confirms, “our seniors are a valuable asset in our workforce given their wealth of knowledge, ability to mentor younger colleagues, and commitment to hard work.”

While older workers may be forced to continuing working to pay their bills, many employees will take jobs for both psychological and social fulfillment. Hiring and retaining older workers may be a simple way for American businesses to maintain their competitiveness in a world economy. The report says that this can easily be accomplished by having “flexible workplaces, options for transitioning to retirement and fostering generational diversity and inclusion.” The AARP report is a must read for any CEO or Human Resource Director.

For the full report, go to http://www.aarp.org/research/topics/economics/info-2015/business-case-older-workers.html.

Herb Weiss, LRI ’12, is a Pawtucket-based writer who covers aging, health care and medical issues. He can be reached at hweissri@aol.com.

As many as 48 percent of older Americans live in or on the edge of poverty.

“While many gains have been made over the years to reduce poverty, too many seniors still can’t afford basic necessities such as food, shelter and medicines,” said Aging Committee Chairman Bill Nelson (D-FL).

Policy experts told Senate lawmakers on Wednesday that millions of seniors have been spared from abject poverty thanks to federal programs such as Social Security, Medicaid, Medicare, SSI, and food stamps.  The testimony contrasted with the picture painted by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) earlier this week, who produced a report that labeled the federal government’s five-decade long war on poverty a failure.

Appearing before the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging, Patricia Neuman, a senior vice president at the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, stressed the importance of federal anti-poverty programs.

“Between 1966 and 2011, the share of seniors living in poverty fell from more than 28 percent to about 9 percent, with the steepest drop occurring in the decade immediately following the start of the Medicare program,” said Neuman.  “The introduction of Medicare, coupled with Social Security, played a key role in lifting seniors out of poverty.”

Neuman’s remarks were echoed by Joan Entmacher of the National Women’s Law Center, who credited food stamps, unemployment insurance and Meals on Wheels, along with Social Security, for dramatically reducing poverty among seniors.

The report was highly critical of many programs designed to help the poor and elderly saying they contribute to the “poverty trap.”  Ryan and other House lawmakers have long proposed capping federal spending and turning Medicaid, food stamps and a host of other programs for the poor into state block grants.

Older Women and Pension Benefits

GAO’s Barbara Bovbjerg also brought her views to the Senate Select Committee on Aging hearing. Managing Director of Education, Workforce, and Income Security Issues,  she testified that the trends in marriage, work, and pension benefits have impacted the retirement incomes of older Americans.

Over the last five decades the composition of the American household has changed dramatically, stated Bovbjerg, noting that the proportion of unmarried individuals has increased steadily as couples have chosen to marry at ever-later ages and as divorce rates have risen.

“This is important because Social Security is not only available to workers but also to spouses and survivors.  The decline in marriage and the concomitant rise in single parenthood have been more pronounced among low-income, less educated individuals and some minorities,” she says.

As marriage and workforce patterns changed, so has the nation’s retirement system, adds Bovbjerg.  Since 1990, employers have increasingly turned away from traditional defined benefit pensions to defined contribution plans, such as 401(k)s, she says, this ultimately shifting risk to individual employees and making it more likely they will receive lump sum benefits rather than annuities.

These trends have affected retirement incomes, especially for women and minorities, says Bovbjerg, that is fewer women today receive Social Security spousal and survivor benefits than in the past; most qualify for benefits on their own work history. While this shift may be positive, especially for those women with higher incomes, unmarried elderly women with low levels of lifetime earnings are expected to get less from Social Security than any other demographic group.

According to Bovbjerg, these trends have also affected household savings Married households are more likely to have retirement savings, but the majority of single-headed households have none. Obviously, single parents in particular tend to have fewer resources available to save for retirement during their working years.  With Defined Contribution pension plans becoming the norm for most, and with significant numbers not having these benefits, older Americans may well have to rely increasingly on Social Security as their primary or perhaps only source of retirement income.

Inside the Ocean State

Although the GAO report findings acknowledge a gender-based wage gap that pushes older woman into poverty, Maureen Maigret, policy consultant for the Senior Agenda Coalition of Rhode Island and Coordinator of the Rhode Island Older Woman’s Policy Group, observes that this inequity has been around since the 1970s when she chaired a legislative commission studying pay equity. “Progress in closing the gender wage gap has stagnated since 2000 with the wage ratio hovering around 76.5 percent,” she said.

GAO’s recent findings on gender based differences in poverty rates are consistent with what Maigret found researching the issue for the Women’s Fund of Rhode Island in 2010.  She found that some of the differences in the Ocean State can be attributed to the fact that older women are far less likely to be married than older men.  Almost three times as many older women are widowed when compared to men.

Maigret says that her research revealed that older women in Rhode Island are also less likely to live in family households and almost twice as likely as older men to live alone. Of those older women living alone or with non family members an estimated one out of five was living in poverty. For Rhode Island older women in non-family households living alone, estimated median income in 2009 was 85% that of male non-family householders living alone ($18,375 vs. $21,540).

Finally, Maigret’s report findings indicate that aound 11.3 percent of older Rhode Island women were living below the federal poverty level as compared to 7.3 percent of older men in the state. Older women’s average Social Security benefit was almost 30 percent less than that of older men and their earnings were only 58 percent that of older men’s earnings.

There is no getting around peoples’ fears about outliving their savings becoming a reality if they live long enough,” said AARP Rhode Island State Director Kathleen Connell. “One thing that the latest statistics reveals [including the GAO report] is the critical role Social Security plays when it comes to the ability of many seniors to meet monthly expenses. Social Security keeps about 38 percent of  Rhode Islanders age 65 and older out of poverty, according to a new study from the AARP Public Policy Institute.”

“Nationally, figures jump off the page,” Connell added. “Without Social Security benefits, 44.4 percent of elderly Americans would have incomes below the official poverty line; all else being equal; with Social Security benefits, only 9.1 percent do, she says, noting that these benefits lift 15.3 million elderly Americans — including 9.0 million women — above the poverty line.”

“Just over 50 percent of Rhode Islanders age 65 and older rely on Social Security for at least half of their family income—and nearly 24 percent rely on Social Security for 90 percent of their family income” states Connell.

“Seniors trying to meet the increasing cost of utilities, prescription drugs and groceries would be desperate without monthly Social Security benefits they worked hard for and planned on. As buying power decreases, protecting Social Security becomes more important than ever. Older people know this; younger people should be aware of it and become more active in saving for retirement. Members of Congress need to remain aware of this as well,” adds Connell.

Kate Brewster, Executive Director of Rhode Island’s The Economic Progress Institute, agrees with Maigret that older women in Rhode Island are already at greater risk of poverty and economic security than older men.

“This [GAO] report highlights several trends that make it increasingly important to improve women’s earnings today so that they are economically secure in retirement.  Among the ‘policy to-do list’ is shrinking the wage gap, eliminating occupational segregation, and raising the minimum wage. State and federal proposals to increase the minimum wage to $10.10 would benefit more women than men, demonstrating the importance of this debate to women’s economic security today and tomorrow.”

House Speaker Gordon Fox is proud that the General Assembly in the last two legislation sessions voted to raise minimum wage to its current level of $8 per hour.  That puts Rhode Island at the same level as neighboring Massachusetts, and we far surpass the federal minimum wage of $7.25, he said.  He says he will carefully consider legislation that has been introduced to once again boost the minimum wage.

“Bridging this gap is not only the right thing to do to ensure that women are on the same financial footing as men, but it also makes economic sense”, says Rep. David N. Cicilline.

At the federal level, the Democratic Congressman has supported the ‘When Women Succeed, America Succeeds’ economic agenda that would address issues like the minimum wage, paycheck fairness, and access to quality and affordable child care. “Tackling these issues is a step toward helping women save and earn a secure retirement, but we also have to ensure individuals have a safety net so they can live with dignity in their retirement years,” says Cicilline.

With Republican Congressman Ryan in a GOP-controlled House, captured by the Tea Party, leading the charge to dismantle the federal government’s 50 year war on poverty, the casualties of this ideological skirmish if he succeeds will be America’s seniors.  Cutting the safety net that these programs created will make economic insecurity in your older years a very common occurrence.
Herb Weiss, LRI ’12, is a Pawtucket writer who covers aging, health care and medical issues.  He can be contacted at hweissri@aol.com.