Publisher Description

America is at a crossroads in its approach to work and retirement.Many policymakers think it's logical--almost inevitable--that Americans will delay retirement and spend more years in the paid labor force. But it's an assumption that doesn't match the reality faced by a large and growing proportion of Americans. Though in many ways today's middle-aged adults are less financially prepared for retirement than today's retirees, precarious workingconditions, family caregiving responsibilities, poor health, and age discrimination will make it difficult or impossible for many to work longer.Overtime offers a current,revelatory corrective to our understanding of the future of the American workforce and aging. Experts across economics, sociology, psychology, political science, and epidemiology examine how increasing economic and social inequalities, coupled with changes across generations or birth cohorts, call for a rethinking of the working-longer policy framework. The contributors examine trends and inequalities in employment, health, family dynamics, and politics, helping to shed light on the challengesfaced by traditionally marginalized social groups while showing that our society's responses to an aging workforce affect us all. Together, they argue that policies affecting work must be consideredalongside policies affecting retirement and provide a path forward to achieve better retirement security for all Americans.Drawing on the deep and varied expertise of its contributors, Overtime critically questions the conventional thinking of policy makers in this space to chart a more likely course for older Americans in the twenty-first century--one less reductive than simply "working longer."

Author Biography

Lisa F. Berkman is Director of the Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies (HCPDS) and the Thomas D. Cabot Professor of Public Policy and of Epidemiology at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. She is an internationally recognized social epidemiologist whose work focuses extensively on social and policy influences on population health and health equity. Her research orients toward understanding inequalities in health relatedto working conditions, social and economic policies, and social networks and isolation.Beth Truesdale is a research fellow at the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research and a visiting scientist at the Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies. Dr. Truesdale is a sociologist whose research focuses on inequalities in work and aging, the future of retirement, and the effects of social institutions and public policies on Americans' well-being.

Table of Contents

AcknowledgmentsContributorsIntroduction: Is Working Longer in Jeopardy?Lisa Berkman and Beth C. TruesdalePart I. Who Has a Job? Labor Trends from Commuting Zones to CountriesChapter 1: When I'm 54: Working Longer Starts Younger than We ThinkBeth C. Truesdale, Lisa Berkman, and Alexandra MitukiewiczChapter 2: The Geography of RetirementCourtney C. CoileChapter 3: The European Context: Declining Health but Rising Labor Force Participation among the Middle-AgedAxel Börsch-Supan, Irene Ferrari, Giacomo Pasini and Luca SalernoChapter 4: Work and Retirement in the U.S. after the COVID-19 Pandemic ShockRichard B. FreemanPart II. What's the Fit? Workers and Their Abilities, Motivations, and ExpectationsChapter 5: The Link between Health and Working Longer: Disparities in Work CapacityBen Berger, Italo Lopez-Garcia, Nicole Maestas, and Kathleen MullenChapter 6: The Psychology of Working LongerMargaret E. Beier and Meghan K. DavenportChapter 7: Forecasting Employment of the Older PopulationMichael D. Hurd and Susann RohwedderPart III. Lived Experience: The Role of Occupations, Employers, and FamiliesChapter 8: Dying with Your Boots On: The Realities of Working Longer in Low-Wage WorkMary Gatta and Jessica HorningChapter 9: Ad Hoc, Limited, and Reactive: How Firms Respond to an Aging WorkforcePeter Berg and Matthew PiszczekChapter 10: How Caregiving for Parents Reduces Women's Employment: Patterns Across Sociodemographic GroupsSean Fahle and Kathleen McGarryPart IV. Politics and Policy: Where Population Aging Meets Rising InequalityChapter 11: Working Longer in an Age of Rising Economic InequalityGary BurtlessChapter 12: How Does Social Security Reform Indecision Affect Younger Cohorts?John B. Shoven, Sita Nataraj Slavov, and John G. WatsonChapter 13: The Biased Politics of "Working Longer"Jacob S. Hacker and Paul PiersonConclusion: What Is the Way Forward?Lisa Berkman, Beth C. Truesdale, and Alexandra Mitukiewicz

Review

The book is organized into four parts: an evaluation of who works, an assessment of employee-employer fit, an examination of employment in the context of family and workplace, and a contemplation of politics and future policy. The book's scope is broad, covering retirement, retirement policy, health policy, and a good bit of labor economics. The data and statistics presented are up-to-date, and the essayists make useful international comparisons. The chapters in the book are well-written and scholarly in nature and will make valuable references for scholars and policy makers, but they are not too technical for undergraduate students. * Choice *
Overtime is a daunting picture of the current strongly negative relationship between work and age. The book concludes with policy recommendations both for companies and countries working to adapt to ageing societies. * Avivah Wittenberg-Cox, Forbes Contributor, Forbes *
Americans work longer and have the shortest retirements among rich nations. How long can we postpone raising pensions by falsely hoping Americans can work even longer? Drs. Truesdale and Berkman bring together experts with an answer in this well-researched book. * Teresa Ghilarducci, PhD, Director, Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis *
Berkman and Truesdale brilliantly reframe an essential policy question: Should we promote working longer? Convening experts across the social sciences, this volume illuminates growing inequalities and pushes us to consider the current realities for younger workers in assessing this question. Overtime provides an innovative, compelling, and critical perspective on modern work. * Erin Kelly, PhD, Professor, MIT Sloan, and Co-Director, MIT Institute for Work and Employment Research *
As global aging advances, efforts by countries to preserve social insurance funds by delaying retirement age are challenged by increasing disability in less privileged workers. This authoritative and timely volume de-mythologizes work and retirement for older persons and provides evidence-based strategies for better jobs and financial security later in life. A must read for policy makers and employers. * John W. Rowe, MD, Julius Richmond Professor of Health Policy and Aging, Columbia University *

Long Description

America is at a crossroads in its approach to work and retirement.Many policymakers think it's logical--almost inevitable--that Americans will delay retirement and spend more years in the paid labor force. But it's an assumption that doesn't match the reality faced by a large and growing proportion of Americans. Though in many ways today's middle-aged adults are less financially prepared for retirement than today's retirees, precarious working conditions, family caregiving responsibilities, poor health, and age discrimination will make it difficult orimpossible for many to work longer.Overtime offers a current, revelatory corrective to our understanding of the future of the American workforce and aging. Experts across economics, sociology, psychology, political science, and epidemiology examine how increasing economic and social inequalities, coupled with changes across generations or birth cohorts, call for a rethinking of the working-longer policy framework. The contributors examine trends and inequalities in employment, health, family dynamics, and politics,helping to shed light on the challenges faced by traditionally marginalized social groups while showing that our society's responses to an aging workforce affect us all. Together, they argue that policies affecting work must be considered alongside policies affecting retirement and provide a path forward toachieve better retirement security for all Americans.Drawing on the deep and varied expertise of its contributors, Overtime critically questions the conventional thinking of policy makers in this space to chart a more likely course for older Americans in the twenty-first century--one less reductive than simply "working longer."

Review Quote

"Overtime is a daunting picture of the current strongly negative relationship between work and age. The book concludes with policy recommendations both for companies and countries working to adapt to ageing societies." -- Avivah Wittenberg-Cox, Forbes Contributor, Forbes "Americans work longer and have the shortest retirements among rich nations. How long can we postpone raising pensions by falsely hoping Americans can work even longer? Drs. Truesdale and Berkman bring together experts with an answer in this well-researched book." -- Teresa Ghilarducci, PhD, Director, Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis "Berkman and Truesdale brilliantly reframe an essential policy question: Should we promote working longer? Convening experts across the social sciences, this volume illuminates growing inequalities and pushes us to consider the current realities for younger workers in assessing this question. Overtime provides an innovative, compelling, and critical perspective on modern work." -- Erin Kelly, PhD, Professor, MIT Sloan, and Co-Director, MIT Institute for Work and Employment Research "As global aging advances, efforts by countries to preserve social insurance funds by delaying retirement age are challenged by increasing disability in less privileged workers. This authoritative and timely volume de-mythologizes work and retirement for older persons and provides evidence-based strategies for better jobs and financial security later in life. A must read for policy makers and employers." -- John W. Rowe, MD, Julius Richmond Professor of Health Policy and Aging, Columbia University

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