RE: Working Past 65

[Lisa Furia <lfuria@earthlink.net>]

Mr. MacDonald raises important issues:  age discrimination perpetrated
upon older workers by Corporate America; and, the valid concern
that if SS was modified to increase the age of retirement, some
older Americans would find gaining or retaining employment more
difficult because of this phenomenon.

But, this challenge is not a reason out of hand to dismiss raising
the retirement age.  There are laws existing which preclude age
discrimination.  Relevance of skills is a challenge ALL of today's
(and, tomorrow's) workers face, regardless of age.  If I did not
continually update my professional and technological skills to stay
ahead of the job market trends, I would soon render myself obsolete.
This, of course, is culturally easier for people of my generation
(Gen X, I believe we are called) than it admittedly is for older
Americans. Still, something must be asked of all of us in reforming
SS: this may mean our Government must, in its reform initiatives,
provide job training, skills improvement, technology training, etc.
for older americans seeking to remain in the job force.  This could
be a phased in approach as the age of retirement is gradually
increased so the pool of "retrained" older Americans is ahead of
the age of retirement increase.

Change will be required of all.  Many in my family's elderly have
lived until their late 80s. This means that some have collected SS
for over 25 years.  In several cases, some wanted to and did continue
to work until their mid-70s.  This contributed to their sense of
well-being, esteem and overall wellness.

Age discrimination is a real phenomenon.  Any real attempt to raise
the age of retirement MUST be supplemented with transition training
for older Americans.  In turn, older Americans and Corporate America
must reengineer their expectations of what type of work will be
available, how that work is completed, and, the use of technology
(telecommuting, distance learning, etc.) can facilitate this.

Best,

Lisa