Almost everybody needs or wants to work in their 50s and most need to work into their 60s. But the pandemic hasn't been kind to older workers.
The "Great Resignation” — a term that describes those who have been emboldened to seek raises or discover better things to do than work — mostly applies to young and mobile workers. Only employees ages 16 to 24 have seen big wage gains, while older workers' wages have been stagnant. In addition, a sizable chunk of older workers, about 15%, lost their jobs in 2020 compared to 14% of prime-age workers. That's counter to the trend of older worker job loss usually being lower compared to other age groups during a recession.
A greater-than-expected share of older workers in their mid-60s and over (presumably with padded retirement accounts and COVID-19 fears) did in fact choose to retire. But younger older workers, or those ages 55 to 64, seem to have been forced out of work — often without substantial retirement assets.