Employment Support for the Transition to Retirement: Can a New Program Help Older Workers Continue to Work and Protect Those Who Cannot?

Older workers whose employment prospects are cut short can claim reduced Social Security benefits beginning at age 62, the earliest eligibility age. This option provides a floor of protection for workers who are forced by circumstances to retire early, but it also provides benefits to people who may not have a pressing need and might be better off waiting. A leading proposal to extend working years involves increasing the earliest eligibility age for Social Security, but this proposal might inflict hardship on some older workers. The author presents a framework for a new program that could address the harm that increasing the earliest eligibility age might inflict on some older workers. The report identifies circumstances that would call for expanded assistance for workers nearing retirement if early benefits were no longer available. It also describes a range of benefits, tailored to individual needs, including wage subsidies and other work supports, health insurance subsidies, disability benefits, extended unemployment benefits, and employment counseling.