Research: Governments Need To Restructure Deferred Retirement Plans To Encourage Retention of Employees

A University of Missouri researcher concluded has that states may need to restructure deferred retirement incentives to encourage more employees to remain on the job longer and minimize the disruption to government operations. Using, as a case study, the state of Missouri’s Deferred Retirement Option Provision (BackDROP), Angela Curl, assistant professor in the University of Missouri School of Social Work, looked at how the large numbers of possible retirees—in Missouri, more than 25% of all active state employees will be eligible to retire by 2016—threaten the continuity, membership and institutional histories of the state government workforce.

Curl said that a good system of employee retention is inclusive, flexible and accounts for the wide range of circumstances that retirement-eligible employees may consider when deciding to defer retirement. These circumstances could include caregiving for older parents or having a spouse who is retired. In Missouri, BackDROP offers a one-time payment equaling 90 percent of what employees would have received in benefits for an additional five years of service as incentive to delay retirement.

Curl said that “[e]mployers need to ask if their organizations are designed to promote turnover or promote retention. . . . States should recognize the benefits of promoting retention. Using delayed retirement incentives to encourage retention is important, particularly when dealing with older employees.”

A paper—“A case study of Missouri’s deferred retirement incentive for state employees”—co-authored by Kirsten Havig, will appear in the Journal of Aging and Social Policy`. Among other things, the study also found that social demographics such as race, sex, level of education and marital status did not play a significant role in an employee’s decision to defer retirement.

Sources: University of Missouri News Release (April 3, 2014); Columbia Business Times "MU researcher examines options for aging workforce" (April 8, 2014)

Missouri: Census Bureau Issues Profile of the Older Worker

In a continuation of its partnership with 31 states on a series of reports on workers 55 and older, the Census Bureau has released its report on Missouri, the 23rd state to be released in the series. Among the highlights of the report--"The Geographic Distribution and Characteristics of Older Workers in Missouri: 2004":

• 14.2% of workers were 55 and older, while 3.2% were 65 and older;
• statewide, the real estate and rental and leasing industry had the highest proportion of or workers 55 and older, but no industry had 20% or more of its workers in that age group; and
• the state's retail trade industry employed the greatest number of older workers, with about 15.6% of the workers 55 and older being in that sector.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics What's New (November 20, 2008)

Missouri Seeks Nominations for Older Worker of the Year

The Missouri Senior Employment Coordinating Committee announces that the competition is on for the best older worker of 2005. Now in its 15th year, Missouri’s annual Older Worker of the Year contest seeks to crown a Missouri resident who is 55 years of age or older, gainfully employed at a Missouri job for an average of 20 or more hours per week, and displayed dependability, loyalty, new skills and self-motivation on the job.

Source: News Release Missouri Department of Health & Senior Services (January 31, 2004)