Benefits and Challenges of Hiring Older Workers
Order worker can have an advantage to an organization due to their consistency and maturity in decision-making. They are perceived to have low rates of absenteeism compared to younger employees (p. 175). According to the continuum of services part II, older workers demonstrate positive labor ethics since they have already developed a stable career. Additionally, employers save on time, energy, and money for capacity enhancement for older populations, since, they project limited return on investments. The continuum of services part II reveals that customers are more receptive to advice from older personnel compared to younger workers. When businesses that interact with clients employ older generation,they enhance trust in their products and services. Although organizations consider older workforce as weary and unproductive, age diversity in the workplace can improve performance and hence the need to integrate the ageing workforce.
Older employees have systemic limitations that can affect the operations of an organization. The continuum of services part II illustrates that this group have limited exposure to technology and the digital innovations that revolutionize modern operations (p. 175). Although this is a belief in several employers, the continuum of services part II clarifies that the ageing population generally have limited exposure to technology and hence do not embrace its application (p. 175). The older workforce is susceptibility to sickness and have reduced energy, hence cannot manage certain operations. Such incidences make employers limit the interaction with ageing personnel at workplace.
Social Security Benefits
The Social Security Act of 1925 established an old age benefit program and unemployment insurance to support workers (the continuum of services part II, p. 187). The three categories are based on retirement, disability, and dependents or survivor benefits (the continuum of services part II, p. 188). Employees qualifie for old age benefits at 62 years when they are eligible for early retirement. The continuum of services part II illustrates that for a worker to be eligible to receive disability benefits, either physical or mental impairment should limit the capability to gainful employments (p. 188). Additionally, the disability must have lasted 12 months or resulted to death. For dependents and survivor benefits, employees should accumulate credits to qualify for either individual retirement earnings or disability accruals (the continuum of services part II, p. 188). Workers are paid a monthly retirement package depending on their contributions and retirement age. For instance, workers who retired at full age in 2017 earn a monthly package of $1371. Accordingly, employees who benefit from disability schemes benefit either directly or through their spouses and children, depending of the level of disability or mental impairments. Thus, survivor benefits are paid to dependents such as children or spouse on a monthly basis.
Compare and Contrast Pension Schemes
Defined Benefit
ü Pays yearly benefits to retirees. ü Provides retirees with consistent income flows from retirement to death of members and may continue until a spouse die. ü The risk to ensure money to pay promised benefits is borne by the employer ü The scheme exonerates employee from participating in the contribution plan (the continuum of services part II, p. 190) |
Defined Contribution
ü They have a specified employee and employer contributions, but provide limited guarantee on benefits. ü The funds are accumulated in investment accounts and the returns from the reserves determine the rate of paybacks. ü The employee invests the contributions (the continuum of services part II, p. 190) |
Private Sector Employers and Older Workers
Many countries experience the emergence of older workers. Integratingsuch employees with younger personnel is an important aspect in enhancing balance in organizations According to Peterson (2018), private companies are employing flexible working schedules as incentives for older generations to continue working (23). The author reveals that part time arrangements, seasonal employment, consulting services, and reduction of job responsibilities are strategies implemented by private sector to attract the aging workforce (p. 23). For instance, a company such as CVS, which is a global pharmaceutical provider encourages older personnel to work during spring and summer seasons in New York then transfer to Florida during fall and winter. Such programs provide work incentives for ageing populations due to weather fluctuations, which significantly affect their operations (p. 23). Quinn, Cahill, and Giandrea (2018) aver that employers provide progressive program such as reduction in working hours and bridge employment systems where an older worker is allowed to work with a different employer after retiring (p.1) Such incentives enhances integration of the aging workforce and lead to improved performance
References
Petersen, J. S. (2018). Employment Policies to Increase the Labor Force Participation of Older Workers. Members-only Library. 20-28. Retrieved from http://www.lerachapters.org/OJS/ojs-2.4.4-1/index.php/LERAMR/article/download/1273/1258
Quinn, J. F., Cahill, K. E., & Giandrea, M. D. (2018). Transitions from career employment among public-and private-sector workers. Journal of Pension Economics & Finance, 1-20. Retrieved from https://www.nber.org/papers/w25003.pdf
The Continuum of Services Part II.