[slededit]

You would expect that as the largest cohort in modern history retires en mass that the ratio of people in the work force to those outside would start to shift. I think its valid to say that a lot of baby boomers were discouraged post-2008 and perhaps would have worked an extra decade had things been better. But at this point we're well into their retirement years.

[notadoc]

Except that, statistically, most baby boomers in the USA have zero to little saved for retirement, and can't afford to retire, and so they keep working.

[slededit]

They have not saved nearly enough but it hasn't stopped them from retiring. The number to watch is the "old-age dependency ratio" which has risen to 25/200 from 21 per 100 in 2010. The trend is for this number to increase as more boomers surpass 65.

As people age their skills and acuity decrease, so while some may want to continue working its not at all a sure thing they'd be able to even if 2008 hadn't happened. I can't think of a good statistic to capture this and we're both looking at second derivative statistics.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/retiring-baby-boomers-leave-the...

[ourmandave]

I know a few people who would have retired except they need the health insurance.

[slededit]

Isn't medicare better than most private insurance plans?

[notadoc]

Maybe a long time ago. Politics have dramatically since changed Medicare, which is why nearly all seniors buy supplement plans today.

[francisofascii]

Medicare doesn't start until 65. So they probably mean would have retired early.

[slededit]

Close to half the baby boomer cohort is 65 or older now. We're not talking about early retirement.