Ch.10, Work Later in Life Flashcards
Transformations in work for baby boomers
Pressures to remain in the labour force longer so as to accrue increased investments and pensions for retirement
A shift toward receiving pension benefits later than the traditional 65 years of age in many contemporary societies (e.g., UK, USA, etc.)
More frequent and rapid shifts in the economy, leading to job losses, company mer- gers, downsizing, the outsourcing of work to other countries where labour is cheap, and fluctuations in retirement and pension plan investments
There is a rise in individualization of the work life: individuals, not just employers, make decisions concerning entry into and exit from the workforce based on per- sonal interests, ambitions, and abilities to seek a “work–life balance.”
There is increased education and labour-force participation among women.
Gender relations are changing at home and at work: men are more involved in family responsibilities because of two-career couples; women are more involved in manage-
ment and leadership positions at work.
Increasingly, lives are linked across generations and institutions (McMullin and
Curtis 2017; Mitchell 2017): entry to the workforce is delayed because of educa- tional pursuits or a weak economy; family events or decisions are arranged around careers or work demands; women postpone entering the labour force or leave it early to care for children, grandchildren, or elderly parents.
A knowledge-based economy with increased technology reduces the physical labour in jobs, necessitates retraining, stimulates organizational change, and requires fewer workers with more specialized skills (Marshall and Taylor 2005).
Work–retirement transitions are becoming more fluid and complex. Retirement is no longer, for many, a predictable event that occurs on or around the sixty-fifth birthday.
There is a cultural shift in attitudes toward active aging and the possibility of opti- mizing employment opportunities for an aging
labour force and for aging individ- uals who wish to continue working in later life.
Socially “acceptable” linear stages of life
(education, work, and then retirement
Considered normative and ideal
After complet- ing formal education (high school or university), a young man was expected to enter the labour force and work continuously throughout his life
Women, on the other hand, after completing their education, were expected to marry and raise children
If unmarried, to work full-time, although part-time work was acceptable for a married woman after her children were of a certain age
Once employed, most of one’s career was spent with the same company, out of loyalty and to maximize one’s salary and pension benefits
Then, at age 65, unless declining health or disability required an earlier exit, an individual retired, if eligible, with full public and/or private pension benefits.
Older workers
“Older workers” are defined by most government agencies as those over 45 years of age.3
Myths of older workers
they are less productive, less creative, less reliable
new retirement
In recent years, transitions from work to retirement have become blurred in what has been termed the new retirement (McDonald and Donahue 2011), as individuals strive to bal- ance individual choices and needs with available resources and opportunities.
Contingent Workforce:
working casually or seasonally through short-term contracts or consulting (sometimes called bridge employment or retirement).
Canada, the Pension Act of 1918
provided assistance for war veterans only.
The first supposedly universal pension plan,
, introduced in 1927 (the Old Age Pension Act), paid $20 a month at age 70 and beyond (at a time when few reached or lived beyond this age). However, it was not truly a universal plan, since a means test determined whether an older person needed the $20.
Economic security
both a private trouble and a public issue
at best, income-security systems ensure that most citizens receive an adequate replace- ment income after they retire and thus do not experience economic hardship.
defined benefits (DB)
in which a specific, guaranteed monthly benefit is paid upon retirement according to a formula based on average earnings in the last three to five years of employment, plus years of service with the employer
defined contributions (DC),
in which the benefit paid after retirement varies by the amount contributed by the individual and the employer and the investment return on the contributions in the fund.
Portability of private pension plans
Private pension plans are portable: contributions can be transferred to a plan in another company.
Poverty Later in Life, LICO
The most common and oldest measure of relative poverty in Canada (in use since 1968) is Statistics Canada’s low-income cut-offs (LICOs). This measure, which is adjusted annually according to the Consumer Price Index, is based on patterns of family expenditures on food, clothing, and shelter for a given community size and family size
NOT ABSOLUTE, IT IS RELATIVE
Poverty, Low Income Measure
This measure is adjusted for family size and is a common definition of “relative poverty”
reflects an inability to pay for groceries, rent, and transit fares, is used to compare year-over-year changes in Canada and to compare poverty levels in Canada with those in other countries.
Market Basket Measure
Itts “market basket” measure of poverty, in which the poverty line is based on the income needed to purchase basic goods and services in the basket, is calculated for a typical family of four
This absolute measure of poverty identifies families whose disposable income—total income minus taxes, payroll deductions, support payments, child care, and out-of-pocket medical expenses—does not enable them to purchase a basket of basic goods and services consisting of food, clothing and footwear, shelter, transportation, and other goods and services, including furniture, telephone service, and postage stamps
