It is no secret that the age of retirement has extended well past the traditional age of 65. As life expectancy increases and health technology becomes more innovative, people are beginning to work into their 70s and 80s, and a few hardy citizens remain in the office at even older ages. While this is in part due to a drive to remain physically and mentally active, it also stems from the trend of superior retirement benefits being offered by many companies. These corporations offer a number of employee benefits to ensure their workers have the best healthcare and retirement programs no matter how long they plan on working.
The Chicago Tribune reported that between 1977 and 2007, the number of employees over the age of 65 increased by over 100 percent. During the past decade alone, the amount of this working demographic rose from 4.3 million to 7.2 million. Currently, the number of people working over the age of 75 is 1.3 million, which is 41.2 percent more than ten years ago. Believe it or not, these people make up a sizeable chunk of the workforce, and are a force to be reckoned with when it comes to employee benefits.
The improving economy has sparked a resumed interest in defined contribution plans for retirement, especially the four different types of 401(k) programs. These include the traditional 401(k), safe harbor 401(k), SIMPLE 401(k) and the automatic enrollment 401(k) plan. Since federal law does not require any office to offer a specific type of plan, workers both young and old may speak with employee benefits consulting services to make sure they find the plan that is right for them.
