Are Older Workers Capable of Working Longer?

The brief’s key findings are:

• Working longer is a key to retirement security, but recent worsening health trends raise the question of how long people will be able to work.
• The analysis estimates “working life expectancy” for those over 50 – how long they will be alive, living in the community, and free of disabilities.
• The results show that, over the period 2006-2018, gains in “working life expectancy” have slowed.
• And many Black workers, as well as whites with less education, may not be capable of working to Social Security’s full retirement age of 67.