Link Directory

Directory of web-related resources for older workers.
United States: State by state links for aging workforce resources.
International: Nation by nation links for aging workforce resources.
Unemployment among older workers
Academic and scientific research
Conferences and events
Ergonomics and the aging workforce.

Information for Employers

50+ At Work a Facebook page sponsored by Green Consulting Group LLC and Leading Futurists LLC, to provide a community for talking about how to succeed with an aging workforce.

"Aging Workforce and Accessible Technology Micorsoft

Are You Ignoring Older Workers? Society for Human Resource Management, HR Magazine (August 2003)

Employing older workers and controlling workers' compensation costs (PDF) The Journal of Workers Compensation

"How to Protect an Aging Work Force" Occupational Hazards, January 20, 2005

Letting Older Workers Work Urban Institute paper propounding making phased retirement a routine employee benefit (July 1, 2003)

Older Workers: Labor Can Help Employers and Employees Plan Better for the Future GAO Report GAO-06-80, December 2005. While some employers are making an effort to hire and retain older workers, such as offering flexible work arrangements, most have not yet made these efforts a priority. GAO recommends that the Secretary of Labor design a comprehensive and highly visible public awareness campaign as a way to help employers and employees plan better for the future and by so doing, bridge the gap between employer and employee needs.

Prevention tips for older workers (PDF)

A Profile Of Older Workers In Illinois U.S. Census Bureau, Illinois Department of Employment Security (June 2004)

Protecting Older Workers (PDF) Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation Workers' Comp Quarterly (Winter 2005)

Safe and Healthy: A Guide to Managing an Aging Workforce Alberta (CA) Human Resources & Employment (March 2006)

Older Worker Employment Transportation Resources Community Transportation Association (Jamuary 2008). Whether fueled by economic pressures or by the choice to stay mentally and physically active, many older adults are choosing to continue to work past traditional retirement age, re-enter the workforce after retirement, or engage in volunteer activities, resulting in the need for increased employment-related mobility options. The increasing numbers of working older adults creates a new dynamic for transportation providers striving to accessible transportation that meets the specific commute needs of older worker. These briefs outline several strategies that transportation providers can adopt to ensure that transportation is the link, not the barrier, to jobs for older adults.

Government Initiatives

Aging Workforce Initiative U.S. Department of Labor program "to expand the workforce investment system's understanding about how to best serve the older worker population and develop models to share with all local workforce investment areas."

Private Initiatives

The Home Depot hiring partnership with AARP

AACC Plus 50 Initiative Pilot group of two-year institutions to create or expand campus programs to engage the plus-50 population in learning, training/re-training programs; and/or volunteer, civic, service activities.

Survey Data

The Cornell Study of Employer Phased Retirement Policies: A Report on Key Findings

"Discouraged Workers? Job Search Outcomes of Older Workers" a Working Paper by Nicole Maestas and Xiaoyan Li for Michigan Retirement Research Center, University of Michigan

US Census Bureau Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics (LED) profiling older workers in (PDF files):

Graying of Massachusetts The Massachusetts Institute for a New Commonwealth, 2004 (free registration). Many Massachusetts workers will face a stark choice in the coming years: Retire later or retire with less money. Our findings show that powerful trends are converging at once to alter the retirement landscape: An aging population that has not saved enough must adjust to new Social Security rules that delay full benefits from the current age of 65 to 67 years. In addition, about one-third of full-time Bay State workers lack any form of pension coverage - including 401(k) plans - at their current workplace, and personal savings rates are at their lowest since the Great Depression.

Mine Safety: Older Workers The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health has been monitoring the growing aging of the mining workforce--approximatley half of coal miners are now 45 years or older, and other mining commodities are not far behind. Among other NIOSH publications:

Third Parties

Age Wave, a firm created to guide Fortune 500 companies and government groups in product/service development for boomers and mature adults.

AgelessInAmerica, a firm established to support individuals and organizational leaders in understanding the changes in the American workplace and how best to adapt in order to ensure success.

Center for Retirement Research at Boston College promotes research on retirement issues, transmits new findings to the policy community and the public, helps train new scholars, and broadens access to valuable data sources.

The Employers Forum on Age is an independent network of leading employers in the UK who recognise the value of an age diverse workforce. The EFA sets the agenda for age and employment issues in the UK. In addition to supporting employers, the EFA influences Government, business and trade unions, and campaigns for real, practical change in issues such as flexible retirement and the forthcoming age discrimination legislation.

Experience Works is a national, nonprofit organization that offers training, employment, and community service opportunities for mature workers. This includes a variety of programs designed to help mature individuals enter the workforce, secure more challenging positions, move into new career areas, or supplement their incomes.

National Older Worker Career Center provides professional, technical, and administrative work opportunities to older workers through the EPA's Senior Environmental Employment (SEE) Program.

The OASIS Institute, a national non-profit education organization dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for people age 50 and older.

Older Workers Employment Network provides employees and employers in the East Riding, Yorkshire (UK) region with a website for mature people who have experienced ageism as a barrier in gaining employment or it has been an issue at the time of leaving working life.

Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP) is a work-training program of the AARP Foundation for low-income persons age 55 and older. It helps those in need to re-train for a changing workforce, to find self-confidence, and most importantly, to find a job.

Local providers of employment and training services help to find residents aged 55 and older to participate in SCSEP. For example, see

Work for Older Persons Center on Aging Studies Without Walls0

International Developments

Proceedings of MISEP Network Meeting on ?Jobs across the life course - making people work!? 25 November 2004 (Word Document)

"The EU and Employment" from AGE, the European Older People�s Platform, aims to voice and promote the interests of older people in the European Union and to raise awareness of the issues that concern them most. Everyone in the European Union is increasingly affected by decisions taken by its institutions : the Council of Ministers, the Commission, the European Parliament and the Court of Justice. Decisions affect the daily lives of all its inhabitants - including older people.