States Seek To Stretch Working Years Of Baby Boomers About To Retire

Washington, DC (AHN) - Various states are seeking ways to delay the retirement of a large chunk of American labor force through policies and programs designed to keep baby boomers in the work place.

At least five states expected to benefit for a few years more from the rich experience of the first batch of potential retirees who were born in 1946. Another 8 states would try to tap them as volunteer or part-time staff.

The U.S. Social Security system and medical care sector are bracing for a big drain on their resources as members of the baby boom era stop paying social security premiums and instead collect lump sum annuities, while charging growing medical bills to their health policies.

Arizona recently initiated the Mature Workforce Initiative which makes an online list of mature residents willing to perform paid and volunteer work and business establishments open to hiring senior staff. California has its EnCorps Teachers Program, which seeks to convince elderly Californians to fill in the gap for 33,000 new science and math teachers in state schools.

Wyoming, Ohio, New Mexico, Maine, Florida, Colorado, Arkansas and Alabama are crafting with the National Governors Association a program that will seek ways skills of senior citizens may still be of use in their states.

It is not just a question of expected idle hours that needs to be filled in, but also spending money for elder Americans used to getting a monthly pay check. Melanie Starns, policy adviser on aging of the Arizona governor, pointed out, "Not everybody has three pensions and an IRA plan... A lot of people actually need the work to survive, and other who have more time don't want to just stuff envelopes and answer phones."

Filing for Social Security benefits at the youngest age possible has its downside. It includes lesser pensions, higher taxes on retirement savings and the possibility of living longer than their savings. Stephen Goss, chief actuary of the Social Security Administration, said traditionally only about 5 percent of retirees are willing to wait for the maximum retirement age before they file for benefit claims.

Ron Gebhardtsbauer, a senior fellow of the American Academy of Actuaries, estimates that an employee who opts to retire at 62 and survives until his mid-90s gave up almost $150,000 in benefits due to early retirement.

According to the Social Security Administration, the break-even age for Social Security benefits is 77, which means those who are still alive at 77 earn more because they delayed their benefits.