In the first of two rounds of interviews, 12 Social Security Administration (SSA) beneficiaries, all of whom professed a desire to work, discussed their perspectives on barriers to employment. Two years later, 8 of the 12 engaged in a second round of interviews. Only 1 of the 8 participants had succeeded in becoming self-supporting. After a review…

According to the National Bureau of Economic Research, the Great Recession began in December 2007 and ended in June 2009. With a duration of eighteen months, this recession was almost double the length of the average post-World War II economic downturn. Although the worst recession since the Great Depression is now technically over, this analysis…

Issues of early retirement of college and university faculty are examined as they relate to Australia's aging faculty population, and the conditions necessary to promote early retirement successfully in this context are considered. (MSE)

Discusses the rapidly rising rate of Japan's population and that country's attempts to secure and promote older worker employment. Such measures include using employment quotas, raising the retirement age, and advocating continued employment. (Author/CT)

The 1978 Amendments to the Age Discrimination in Employment Act establishes the mandatory retirement age at 70. The implications for higher education are discussed, a steady-state model is examined, and an alternative is offered. (Author/MLW)

College administrators have an obligation to educate faculty and staff as consumers of retirement plan services. Employers can face liability if they limit plan participation to overly restrictive investment alternatives. A task force representing employees should be appointed to make vendor selections. (MSE)

Discusses the important age discrimination issues decided by the Supreme Court in "Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio v. Betts." Frames some of the issues expected to be hard fought in post-Betts litigation. Summarizes how pending legislative initiatives would deal with the question of benefits discrimination against older…

Voluntary severance plans for college employees offer a possible solution to the problem of limiting labor costs in an inflationary economy, particularly when mandatory retirement is eliminated. The severance package must be carefully budgeted, constructed, and communicated to the employees, and the institution must be disciplined in carrying it…

A version of the academic flow model analyzed the quantitative effects on faculty composition, compensation, and turnover of implementing seven options. The options were early retirement, change in the probationary period, increased proportions of part-time faculty, unlimited renewable appointments, and nonrenewable fixed-term appointments, and…

A public policy study in Minnesota, conducted as part of Project 2030, looked at the impacts of the aging of the baby boom generation on the work force and the economic vitality of the state by the year 2030. The study found the following general trends affecting the work force and economic vitality and noted the relation of each to the aging…

The General Accounting Office (GAO) studied selected nations' policies to increase the number of older workers participating in the labor force. The main data collection activities were as follows: (1) an analysis of population and labor force data from eight high-income Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development member nations; (2) an…