Should We Worry About Older Workers with Nontraditional Jobs?

The brief’s key findings are:

• Older workers in nontraditional jobs, without health and retirement benefits, could be financially vulnerable to health shocks or inadequate savings.
• On the other hand, they might use such jobs only infrequently to bridge periods of traditional employment or to extend their careers.
• In a series of studies on this topic, the CRR found some cause for concern, as most workers ages 50-62 with nontraditional jobs use them frequently.
• And while such workers often find a way to get health insurance, they generally lack a mechanism to save for retirement.
• However, nontraditional jobs are not all bad: they allow some people to work into their late 60s and substantially improve their retirement preparedness.