Easterseals — one of the nation’s leading disability and community services providers — and Voya Cares® — a program of Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE: VOYA) that provides resources, thought leadership and advocacy for disability inclusion — announced today the release of a new research paper, titled Employment Extenders: A (labor) force to be reckoned with. The paper focuses on understanding the mindset of Employment Extenders, the individuals who make up the fastest growing segment of the labor market, and points to ways that employers and service providers can support older workers as they prepare to retire.
“Employers and employees often believe that, once an individual reaches a certain age, it’s time for them to start thinking about retirement, but the trend toward continuing to retire later in life, or not at all, is growing,” said Kendra E. Davenport, president and CEO, Easterseals. “In a tight labor market, Employment Extenders often represent years of experience and professional knowledge that can benefit an employer’s entire workforce, but our study finds that they have unique concerns and needs that employers and community service providers can help them address.”
Survey findings reveal seemingly contradictory motivations for extending employment, which raise the question about whether Employment Extenders in the U.S. are working longer because they want to or need to. While the majority of survey participants indicate that they have not saved enough for retirement, with most having less than $500,000 in savings, they also say they are working longer because they want to.
Additionally, Employment Extenders show a lack of future planning for caregiving. Most are not thinking about the increased likelihood that they or a family member may become disabled as part of the aging process, which may accelerate their need to stop working before they plan to do so. Results also indicate that they do not consider the costs associated with caring for…
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