美国退休人员年龄波动

The Age Wave: America's Retiring Workforce¹

美国退休人员年龄波动

 

It’s being called the “age wave”, and it’s causing concern in both federal and corporate² circles. Rudolph Penner of Washington’s Urban Center warns that the tidal wave has actually begun.

 

Rudolph Penner: There are some ‘baby boomers’ retiring already, and the first group will apply for social security in 2008. And what we’re going to see is a huge loss of very experienced people without many younger people to take their place because the birth rate has been very low since the mid-1960s.

 

Analysts³ note that baby boomers, people born between 1946 and 1964 are aging. What this means, according to federal statistics, is that workers 55 years of age and older will likely constitute 17 percent of the workforce by the end of the decade. And with projections⁴ for mass retirements⁶ and low birth rates, more retirees will be called upon to fill the gaps in the workplace.

 

Victor Marshall, Director of the University of North Carolina’s Institute on Aging says when the baby boomer generation begins to retire, a much smaller workforce will take its place.

 

Victor Marshall: Three percent of the workforce in the U-S is over the age of 65 right now. You’ve got 20 percent age 60-to-64; 61 percent is age 25-to-49, and then 15.8 percent is age 15-to-24. So for the group that’s going to be exiting, you’ve got 23 percent who are age 50 years or older. You’ve got an average retirement⁵ age of 62. So half of these people then are going to be leaving in the next decade.

 

Despite a 4.5 percent increase in the number of employed senior citizens last year, experts point out that the long-term trend actually reflects a decrease in the number of working older Americans. Polls conducted by the American Association of Retired⁷ Persons, or A-A-R-P, indicate that 70-to-80 percent of Americans plan to work in some capacity after retirement. Analysts say that nearly half of the one-point-six million employees in the federal sector⁸ will be eligible⁹ to retire by 2008. This will entail¹⁰ a loss of expertise¹¹ that many analysts warn will impact fields such as teaching, geosciences and manufacturing.

 

David DeLong, author of the book Lost Knowledge warns that this exodus¹² could lead to an unprecedented¹³ erosion of expertise in the labor¹⁴ force.

 

David DeLong: What isn’t well known or recognized is that we’re now retiring the first generation of professionals and managers who have deep knowledge of complicated technologies like computer systems, advanced scientific fields and integrated and global management processes. And that means that people leaving organizations today have new types of knowledge that didn’t exist a generation ago. That knowledge is very hard to transfer and retain.

 

Most analysts say that because many seniors want to continue working after retirement, companies need to come up with creative arrangements that take into account what their older employees want.

 

Deborah Russell, Director of the Economic Security and Work Section at A-A-R-P, says companies should plan to deal with returning retired workers in non-traditional ways.

 

Deborah Russell: When we talk to boomers, they say they’re looking for flexibility¹⁵. That’s a big issue. It’s being able to offer flexible work opportunities because I don’t think you’re going to get people who are willing to work your traditional nine-to-five. They’re looking for things like job-sharing, telecommuting, part-time opportunities and phased retirement. Those are the kinds of things that are going to keep them in the workplace.

 

Ms. Russell adds that as medical breakthroughs allow people to live longer, more companies are offering incentives¹⁶, health screenings and wellness programs to encourage their employees to lead healthier lifestyles, and reduce health care premiums¹⁸.

 

Many analysts see this trend as an indication that businesses are recognizing the value of older employees in today’s technology-driven world. Dorcas Hardy¹⁹, Policy Committee Chairman for the White House Conference on Aging, says that while many younger workers are highly motivated and reliable, older employees bring a different perspective to the workplace.

 

In preparing for the White House Conference on Aging in December, which is expected to make policy recommendations to President Bush on the employment of seniors, Dorcas Hardy points out that disincentives to working beyond retirement age must be addressed.

 

Dorcas Hardy: There are impacts on persons’ pension benefits if they continue to work. There are those who would like to work a little bit and then have some leisure, then go back to work. All of these have an impact on the way in which employers address their business and the kind of perhaps regulatory or legal changes that may have to be done to accommodate our future workforce.

 

Some analysts suggest a phased-retirement approach that would allow retirees to continue working part-time, rather than a full 40-hour week. This, in turn, would entail changes to pension laws, and many private pension plans. But regardless of the approach, most analysts agree that many employers, who have yet to realize the full implications of the age wave, need to begin tackling this problem now.

 

For Focus, I’m Steve Ember.

 

注释：

tidal wave 潮汐波，浪潮

baby boomer 生育高峰出生的人

eligible [5elidVEbl] adj. 符合条件的

geoscience [7dVi(:)Eu5saiEns] n. 地球科学

exodus [5eksEdEs] n. 大批的离去

erosion [i5rEuV(E)n] n. 侵蚀

labor force 劳动力

take into account 重视，考虑

job-sharing 轮班制

telecommuting [5teli7kE5mju:tiN] n. 远程办公

premium¹⁷ [5primjEm] n. 额外费用，保险费

disincentive [disin5sentiv] n. 障碍

pension [5penFEn] n. 养老金，退休金

regulatory [5re^julEtEri] adj. 调整的

tackle [5tAkl] vt. 处理，解决

1 workforce   

n.劳动大军，劳动力

参考例句：

• A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.劳动人口中一大部分受雇于农业。
• A quarter of the local workforce is unemployed.本地劳动力中有四分之一失业。

2 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

3 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

4 projections   

预测( projection的名词复数 )； 投影； 投掷； 突起物

参考例句：

• Their sales projections are a total thumbsuck. 他们的销售量预测纯属估计。
• The council has revised its projections of funding requirements upwards. 地方议会调高了对资金需求的预测。

5 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。

6 retirements   

退休( retirement的名词复数 )； 退职； 退役； 退休的实例

参考例句：

• We've had two retirements in our office this year. 今年我们办公室已有二人退休。
• Those may take the form of sackings redundancies, temporary layoffs or retirements. 这些形式有开除，作为编余人员，暂时解雇或退休。

7 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

8 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

9 eligible   

adj.有条件被选中的；(尤指婚姻等)合适(意)的

参考例句：

• He is an eligible young man.他是一个合格的年轻人。
• Helen married an eligible bachelor.海伦嫁给了一个中意的单身汉。

10 entail   

vt.使承担，使成为必要，需要

参考例句：

• Such a decision would entail a huge political risk.这样的决定势必带来巨大的政治风险。
• This job would entail your learning how to use a computer.这工作将需要你学会怎样用计算机。

11 expertise   

n.专门知识(或技能等)，专长

参考例句：

• We were amazed at his expertise on the ski slopes.他斜坡滑雪的技能使我们赞叹不已。
• You really have the technical expertise in a new breakthrough.让你真正在专业技术上有一个全新的突破。

12 exodus   

v.大批离去，成群外出

参考例句：

• The medical system is facing collapse because of an exodus of doctors.由于医生大批离去，医疗系统面临崩溃。
• Man's great challenge at this moment is to prevent his exodus from this planet.人在当前所遇到的最大挑战，就是要防止人从这个星球上消失。

13 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

14 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

15 flexibility   

n.柔韧性，弹性，（光的）折射性，灵活性

参考例句：

• Her great strength lies in her flexibility.她的优势在于她灵活变通。
• The flexibility of a man's muscles will lessen as he becomes old.人老了肌肉的柔韧性将降低。

16 incentives   

激励某人做某事的事物( incentive的名词复数 )； 刺激； 诱因； 动机

参考例句：

• tax incentives to encourage savings 鼓励储蓄的税收措施
• Furthermore, subsidies provide incentives only for investments in equipment. 更有甚者，提供津贴仅是为鼓励增添设备的投资。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

17 premium   

n.加付款；赠品；adj.高级的；售价高的

参考例句：

• You have to pay a premium for express delivery.寄快递你得付额外费用。
• Fresh water was at a premium after the reservoir was contaminated.在水库被污染之后，清水便因稀而贵了。

18 premiums   

n.费用( premium的名词复数 )；保险费；额外费用；（商品定价、贷款利息等以外的）加价

参考例句：

• He paid premiums on his life insurance last year. 他去年付了人寿保险费。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Moves are afoot to increase car insurance premiums. 现正在酝酿提高汽车的保险费。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 hardy   

adj.勇敢的，果断的，吃苦的；耐寒的

参考例句：

• The kind of plant is a hardy annual.这种植物是耐寒的一年生植物。
• He is a hardy person.他是一个能吃苦耐劳的人。