Exam 10: Is Retirement Obsolete

According to Caro, Bass and Chen, what factors led to the institutionalization of retirement in the United States?

After the recession in 2008 many people in their 50s and 60s began wondering if they would be able to afford to retire.

According to Ekerdt, workers nearing retirement show a decreased level of commitment to work and observance of values about work.

According to time-dairy studies cited by Freedman, retirement frees up more time for men than for women.

Retirement is a one-time transition from full-time work around the age of 65.

"Bridge jobs" that allow older workers to gradually transition from the fulltime workforce.

According to Ekerdt, individuals who uphold the "busy ethic" include which of the following?

Caro, Bass, and Chen argue that chronological age is a strong predictor of performance in physical and mental activities.

Older workers have less absenteeism, lower job turnover, and a lower accident rate than younger workers.

In reflecting upon your current attitudes toward work, what expectations for your post-work years to you imagine for your future older self? To what extent do current patterns in work and retirement reflect your experiences?

A majority of workers in the United States are covered by pension plans.

A standard 40-hour work week was established in the United States in 1960.

Describe trends in labor force participation and retirement among men and women over the last several decades. How do older adults remain productive, even beyond the traditional age of labor force withdrawal? Explain.

While life expectancy has increased by more than 50 percent since 1900, the period of time spent in retirement has increased even more dramatically.

Between the 1950s and the 1990s, the average age of retirement ______.

What is meant by the "busy ethic"? What value does the busy ethic have for older workers and retirees?

Ekerdt argues that in newly retired individuals, the work ethic is transformed into a "busy ethic" and an "ideology of pensions."

In your opinion, is retirement still a valid way to think about the way older adults spend their later years? Is retirement becoming obsolete?