Facilitating Work at Older Ages, 2015-2020

This proposal requests funding for continuation research on facilitating work at older ages, building on a set of studies completed under a previous grant award, and extending a network collaboration of scholars already working on this important issue. The project brings together a research team with substantial past and ongoing research activity on health and health trends at older ages, population aging and its implications, the determinants of work and retirement, the incentives in public and employer policies, and the psychosocial factors that influence behavior. The grant leverages the ongoing work of these investigators (which is already supported with other funding), and directs their attention to the closely related question of how to prolong working lives among those who are able. The project is structured around three substantive topic areas, each of which we propose to continue: (1) work capacity at older ages, (2) how public and employer benefit policies affect work and retirement, and (3) work environments, job flexibility and related factors that facilitate work by seniors.