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Chris Farrell and Jeffrey Bissoy

Older workers aren't hurting the economy, they're stimulating it

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Poll Never Retiring
In this Feb. 12, 2019, file photo pedestrians pass beneath City Hall in Philadelphia. Nearly one-quarter of Americans say they never plan to retire, according to a poll that suggests a disconnect between individuals retirement plans and the realities of aging in the workforce.
Matt Rourke | AP

The association of getting older with decline runs deep. To carry on with work — or anything more demanding than an afternoon lecture, a movie and an early dinner — during the traditional retirement years seems cute at best and depressing at worst.

Forty percent of Americans age 18 to 49 believe that the reluctance of older Americans to retire is bad for American workers.

Here's the thing: Not only are older workers sticking around, they are also helping to boost demand at the consumer level.

MPR News' Chris Farrell, filling in for MPR News host Kerri Miller, spoke with journalist Kerry Hannon and executive director of the Life Course Center at the University of Minnesota, Kate Schaefers, about rethinking and re-imagining work and age.

Subscribe to the MPR News with Kerri Miller podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, or RSS