As the U.S. population continues to age a growing number of individuals are extending their careers well beyond the traditional retirement age. And according to a new study by U.S. Money Reserve, Salt Lake City is one of the top metro's for aging labor forces.
Researchers with the reserve looked at U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and Census data to find out the share of 65-and-old populations still active in the workforce. The study found that 24.4% of Salt Lake City's 65-and-older residents are still working. That's only behind Washington D.C. (25.5%) and Boston (24.6%).
The U.S. Money Reserve says that labor force participation has been increasing steadily since 1985. That year only 10.8% of the over 65 crowd worked. In 2023, that number was hitting 19.2%.
Researchers attribute the shift to chances to traditional pension plans, defined benefit plans that guarantee a fixed income in retirement, to tax-advantaged 401(k) plans that place more responsibility for retirement savings on the individual employee.
Other factors that could be behind the shift, according to researchers, is the increasing life expectancy for Americans and higher educational attainment that leads workers to fields that are less physically demanding, thus enabling older workers to remain active.
Nationally, researchers say that the highest number of over-65 workers are working as delivery drivers (324,000 workers), retail salespersons (304,000), and janitors and building cleaners (256,000).
However, the highest share of those workers 65 and older are being relied on for other occupations. For example, funeral and related workers have 42.2% of their workforce made up by the over-65 labor force. Likewise, school bus monitors (31.6%), crossing guards (30.8%), and school bus drivers (29.7%) have a high concentration of older workers.
Where does Utah rank as a state?
U.S. Money Reserve researchers placed Utah as the 12th state with the largest share of workers still active past retirment age. Currently researchers say that 20.8% of the over-65 labor force is still active.
Vermont topped the list with a 24.8% share of their workers followed by Massachusetts (23.8%), Nebraska (23.7%), and New Hampshire (23.0%).
Virginia and Kansas were ranked just below Utah in terms of most active over-65 workforce at 20.5% each.
West Virginia had the least active over-65 workforce at just 14.0%.
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