Employment of Older Adults: Solutions that need to be included in the National Framework on Aging

Every day I hear from older adults who have been pushed out of, or laid off, from their jobs. Trying again and again without success to secure new employment, they soon ask:

Am I dealing with workplace age discrimination? How am I going to find work?

I talk with a few people who reach out every week, sharing resources and trying to instill hope. It's hard, and I'm often brought to tears, seeing and hearing the frustration of people who have so much talent and experience, worried about what will happen to them, their families, their housing, if they can't find employment.

Mostly, I spend my time focusing on upstream strategies, speaking to employers about the business case for older workers and age inclusion, and working with others on stronger public policy solutions.

So that’s the lens that with which I read the recently-released Strategic Framework for a National Plan on Aging.

Here's what I found.

The good news?

The plan speaks to the importance and contribution of older adults to our society and economy (p. 4) and mentions that older adults are working longer (p. 7). It talks throughout about the importance of including the voices of older adults in the formation of a national plan.

The not-so-good news

The section on employment (pp. 20-21) is slim on policy solutions. While recognizing that "older adults face various challenges in securing and maintaining employment", the current federal government efforts that are listed in the framework fall far short of what is needed.

The framework cites the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, while not recognizing how ADEA has been gutted by the courts. Right now, the burden of proof is higher than for other forms of discrimination, and in some jurisdictions, courts have ruled that the ADEA does not apply to hiring. What we need are stronger age discrimination laws at the local, state and federal level, including passage of the Protecting Older Workers Against Discrimination Act and the Protecting Older Job Applicants Act, both stalled in Congress.

The framework mentions the Senior Community Service Employment Program, indeed a valuable program for low-income unemployed older adults. What we need is additional funding for that program, AND...

What we need is workforce development funding directed towards older adults of all income levels who find themselves without employment, with specific attention to training workforce center staff on the business case for older workers and intergenerational teams, as well as funding allocated to training older adults who are ready, willing and able to be reskilled and upskilled for the future of work.

The AARP 's Vision for a National Plan on Aging has some good ideas in its policy opportunities for employment (p. 14):

Why this is important

This framework will be used to create a national plan, and inform state plans. These plans will influence public policy and funding for programs for older adults. As I've often said, aging policy rarely includes employment, and employment policy rarely includes older adults. We have an opportunity to change that right now by elevating the related issues of employment of older adults, and workplace age discrimination.

The opportunity and my call to action

Throughout, the authors of the framework elevate the importance of the voices of older adults in forming a national plan.

To that end, West Health , one of the nonprofit partners is seeking community feedback on the plan by September 15, 2024.

There is a simple 10-question survey that you can access here.

Please take a moment now and go to this link and let the authors of the framework know that you want to see more of an emphasis on specific policy solutions to facilitate employment of older adults as long as we want and choose to work.

The two questions that you want to weigh in on (tellingly, there is NOT a specific question about employment).

Question 2 asks: What could be added to the Strategic Framework for a National Plan on Aging?

Here you might suggest a stronger focus on employment including policy solutions, like stronger workplace age discrimination laws and specific attention to and funding for programs for jobseekers age 50 and over in our workforce development programs, including funding for upskilling and reskillling. We can incentivize employers through tax credits and other mechanisms to rethink and retool workplaces to accommodate employees of all ages.

After I published this article, my friend Paula Merek also suggested these fabulous additions, things that the federal government can and should do:

• Abolish "Prime Age Worker (ages 25-54) categorization
• Expand hiring of Age 50+ workers beyond SCSEP program
• Appoint an Age 50+ workforce czar focused on needs ALL age 50+ workers, regardless of education and income levels

And certainly, add your own ideas!

Question 7 asks: Is there anything else you would like to add?

Here, you might share a reason or two about why you believe the focus unemployment is important. It may be your own personal experience, or that of a friend and colleague. What I’ll be adding to my survey is this:

I hear from hundreds of older adults. And what we want is to be able to work, to be free from workplace age discrimination, and public policies that support those outcomes.

Most of all, let the architects of this framework know that WORK is fundamentally important to our health and wellbeing as we age, and that we can't continue to ignore the systemic pushing out of older adults and the lack of public policy solutions.

And--please share, share, share.

Ask friends and colleagues who are in similar situations to fill out the survey as well.

Comments are due September 15. 

Let’s make our voices heard!

© Janine Vanderburg, 2024.

Janine is a champion for age-inclusion in the workplace.