An Overview of the Working Lives of Older Baby Boomers

With the leading edge of the baby boom generation now in their mid-sixties, there is considerable interest in how and when these individuals will retire. To help place this issue in a broader context, this paper provides information on the employment histories of individuals who were aged 33 to 38 in 1983 and aged 60 to 65 in 2010.

The longest observed duration of employment is used as an organizing framework, with summary measures presented on indicators such as years of employment, job turnover, annual and cumulative earnings, permanent and temporary layoffs, and years of pensionable service. Cohort members are loosely categorized as 'marginally attached workers', 'mobile workers', or 'long-term-job holders' according to their employment characteristics, with about one-tenth, one-quarter, and two-thirds of cohort members in these groups, respectively.