A Powerful Way to Keep Retirees Out of Poverty Is to Tackle This Workplace Problem

Senior advocate and author Elizabeth White writes in MarketWatch that a recent study by ProPublica and the Urban Institute found that as up to half of the 40 million working adults over 50 will eventually lose their jobs, and only 10 percent will ever find replacement jobs earning pay commensurate with their previous occupations. She recalls BlackRock CEO Larry Fink urging companies to "embrace a greater responsibility to help workers navigate retirement, lending their capacity for innovation to solve this immense global challenge." White argues that "a big part of helping 'workers navigate retirement' is addressing age bias in the workplace. Workplace age discrimination, now compounded by the health risks of COVID-19, is forcing millions of older Americans out of their jobs into early involuntary retirement — an involuntary retirement marked by poverty." She envisions BlackRock leading a push to "engage corporations directly about their plus-50 strategies and inquire about their progress investing in and leveraging talent across generations, especially measures to attract and retain older workers." A 2020 AARP survey of some 6,000 employers found only 47 percent actually monitor age as a diversity factor. White suggests these companies should be recognized and given "a bigger megaphone."