Module 10

Question 1

Labour force participation trends:
(a person is considered in the labour force if the are working or looking for work

Answer 1

*increased labour force participation by older workers
*more women in the labour force *decline of career employment (staying with the same employer for all/most of your career)

Question 2

Gendered Nature of Labour Force Participation: in the later 20th century women:

Answer 2

*blurred public/private life distinction
*unpaid work and paid work
*work often part time and/or marginalized
*since the mid-90s there has been a gradual increase in the # of women aged 45+ in the labour force–driven by increased participation by married women and women with children. Women, however, continue to have more intermittent labour force participation than men and are more likely to work part-time
*due to high divorce rates, some older women work because they have more debt than past generations and insufficient income to retire

Question 3

Gendered Nature of Labour Force Participation: men

Answer 3

currently almost all men are in the labour force up to age 50, then there is a gradual decline with age. Since the 90s, there has been a trend of an increase of men in their 60s and 70s in the labour force

Question 4

Racial and Ethnic Disparities in labour force participation:

Answer 4

may exist due to: types of employment common among certain racial and ethnic groups, rates of disability and education levels
*in the US, at every age black and hispanic Americans are more likely to be unemployed than white Americans
worldwide, asian men have the highest labour force participation, followed by hispanic men

Question 5

Labour for participation: Older Workers:

Answer 5

increased older workers participation in recent years
*2016-66% of those aged 55-64 and 14% of those aged 65+ were participating in the labour force in Canada
*since the early 2000s, there has been a noticeable increase in the proportion of older adults in the labour force
*common for older workers to engage in part-time work (less that 35hrs/week
**may be voluntary (do not want to work full time) or for economic reasons (can’t find full time work)
*in Canada, 35% of older employed men work part time and 58% of older women work part time

Question 6

Benefits of working as an older adult:

Answer 6

provide meaning and a sense of fulfillment. May provide health benefits and additional retirement income

Question 7

Bridge Jobs:

Answer 7

jobs workers take after their career jobs that serve as a transition into retirement
# of older adults who work bridge jobs has been rising

Question 8

Contingent work:

Answer 8

works are hired temporarily to do a specific task
*flexible–often occurs at jobs at the bottom of the labour marker–no benefits

Question 9

Phased Retirement:

Answer 9

allows workers to slowly reduce their responsibilities and ease their way into retirement
*job sharing, reduction in hours etc

Question 10

Older job seekers:

Answer 10

while legislation often prevents the firing of older workers, it has limited effects on hiring practices where most age discrimination occurs but is very difficult to prove. Research from Hong Kong has found most age discrimination is subtle and often involves negative stereotypes

Question 11

Other challenges for older job seekers:

Answer 11

*lack of training opportunities
*lack of part-time or flexible hours
*decreased fitness for physically demanding jobs
*higher salaries mean they are seen as more expensive
*stereotypical beliefs and biases about older adults (e.g. can’t use tech, less productive, harder to train)
*finding a job is more difficult for older workers and there are more likely to experience a pay cut if they do find a job

Question 12

Workplace supports for older workers:

Answer 12

increasingly governments are encouraging employers to invest in older workers due to the aging workforce and potential for labour shortages in some sectors.

Question 13

Building Supportive Workplace Settings for older workers:

Answer 13

*improve skills, motivation and mobility
*promote lifelong learning
*facilitate access to flexible work patterns
*enforce regulations against age-discriminatory attitudes, policies, and practices

Question 14

Retirement:

Answer 14

refers to withdrawal from the labour force. In the past it was seen as a single event where one permanently departed from working and their job
*now many do not completely leave the labour force

Question 15

Retirement continued:

Answer 15

social invention that emerged at the start of the 20th C. and was a deeply-rooted social institution by the end of the 80s
*retirement does not take place in some countries where there are no gov’t pensions
*retirement helps to define old age as a distinct life phase and has gained widespread support across society

Question 16

Mandatory Retirement:

Answer 16

requires, based on industry custom or law, that people who hold certain jobs or offices leave their employment or retire at a certain age
*has been abolished in some countries like Canada
*exceptions may exist where there is a legitimate reason *like pilots

Question 17

Involuntary Retirement:

Answer 17

occurs when a person involuntarily retires for a reason other than mandatory requirement
ex. job loss or declining health

Question 18

Voluntary retirement

Answer 18

occurs when a person wants to retire
*peoples’ decision to retire may be influenced by both economic factors (e.g.meeting pension eligibility age) and individual factors (e.g.declining health)

Question 19

Joint Retirement

Answer 19

occurs when both members of a couple retire at the same time
*most common pattern for retirement for spouses, but the couple must be able to afford to do this

Question 20

Sequential retirement

Answer 20

occurs when one spouse retires while the other continues to work
*more common in couples of lower socioeconomic status who may still need to work for income

Question 21

Defined Benefit Plan

Answer 21

A pension plan in which the benefit level is based on years of service and prior earnings; a specified amount that is guaranteed when a worker reaches a given age.

Question 22

Defined Contribution Plan

Answer 22

A pension benefit based on the amount that has accumulated in the account, including contributions plus any gains or losses from investments, expenses, or forfeitures; a savings account with certain tax advantages.

Question 23

Economic Incentives influencing labour force withdrawal

Answer 23

*eligibility requirements for income benefits
*disability and presence of disability insurance availability
*shift from defined benefits to defined contribution pension plans
*delayed retirement credit
*availability of health insurance for retirees

Question 24

Individual factors influencing labour force withdrawal

Answer 24

*health
*knowledge and planning for retirement
*family considerations (when spouse is retiring
*income-enough to retire?
*job satisfaction–do you like your job?

Question 25

Trend of late retirement due to:

Answer 25

*improved health
*decline in physically demanding work
*increase in defined contribution pension plans
*decline in retiree health benefits
*economic recession and lack of retirement savings
*incentives in pension plans to work longer

Question 26

Experience of Retirement:

Answer 26

*retirement is not only a change in status, but also a transition from employment to unemployment
*timing and whether the retirement is voluntary or not affects satisfaction with the process and life post-retirement

Question 27

Retirement high satisfaction factors

Answer 27

*good health
*adequate income, advanced planning, social connections, voluntary retirement
*people who are married tend to have more positive retirement outcomes (but marital satisfaction may drop if only one spouse retires, and it can take time to adjust to retirement)
*unmarried men often lack social relationships after they retire

Question 28

women and retirement

Answer 28

*women may have more challenges adjusting to retirement than men due to uneven division of household labour
*women have different work patterns than men, which are influenced by family responsibilities and traditional gender roles. Women experience cumulative disadvantages throughout their lifecourse and these can accumulate in later life resulting in more negative retirement experiences (i.e. lower pensions and increased challenges in later life)

Question 29

Public Discourses on Retirement: 3 main discourses:

Answer 29

1)Prophecy of apocalyptic demography: fears of an aging pop. have been used to justify reforms which have reduced pensions and income benefits
2)Retirement as the golden years: emphasizes personal savings (RRSPs) and ability of older adults to support themselves
*optimism that there will be opportunities for profit from the demographic shift
3)Prospect of falling into poverty in retirement: certain pop. groups will be at risk for falling into poverty as others will prosper

Question 30

Retirement life planning

Answer 30

*while most retirees plan financially for retirement, fewer people plan for what they are going to do when they retire
*Most retirees choose to remain active and involved after retirement through leisure activities, caring for grandchildren, being involved in organizations, volunteering, and socializing.

Question 31

People aged 85+ often need to limit their activities due to health

Answer 31

*not all older adults are able to participate in leisure activities
*barriers may include: finances, health, transportation, environment (e.g. amenities in neighbourhood)

Question 32

Volunteering

Answer 32

provides benefits not only for communities and organizations, but also for the volunteers themselves
*there is evidence that volunteering positively impacts health and life satisfaction, provides roles for older adults, and may even decrease mortality
*current gen. volunteers a sig. amount, though it is unclear if future generations will follow their example
*in Canada 36% of older adults were volunteers in 2010 and contributed on average 223 hours per year