Experts say companies should prepare for the impact of an aging workforce in a world where the population over 60 will be larger than that below by 2050, according to the Society for Human Resource Management.
In a recent webinar, director of the Employment and Disability Institute at the Industrial and Labor Relations School of Cornell University Susanne M. Bruyere warned that United States companies are unprepared for the increase in disability claims that such a shift in the workforce may bring.
Bruyere pointed to the statistical increase of disability with age and suggested employers prepare accommodations to meet older workers' needs in order to retain them, indicating different employee benefit, health and wellness measures may be needed.
The workforce is aging for a number of reasons. Longer lifespans and more active later years are partly responsible. In some cases, employers have asked older employees to stay due to their expertise, and others remain for financial reasons.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the percentage of workers who are 65 and older will increase 80 percent by 2030, while the percentage between the ages of 55 and 64 will grow more than 36 percent. As a result, a quarter of U.S. workers will be over 55.
