Hard Work Pushes Many Blacks into Early Retirement – Center for Retirement Research

Exposure to hazardous activities and workplaces for a long time affects the bodies of older workers. Jobs may involve physical tasks such as construction, working in crowded areas or around hazardous chemicals, or stressful shift work.

New research confirms that the disabling conditions that can result from these types of jobs help explain why Black workers are more likely to retire early and sacrifice future earnings to save for the rest of their lives.

Researchers were able to assess the impact of working in hazardous work over thirty years thanks to a new study that asked Americans over the age of 50 for detailed work histories. Respondents listed up to 10 jobs they had held for at least a year. They describe what they did after leaving each job and why they left or retired.

Black workers who participated in the survey were more likely than White workers to say that poor health is “the most important reason for retirement.” Black workers are also more likely to file for Social Security disability benefits, which is an option they can follow if they are not old enough to start their retirement benefits.

To see which of their jobs were dangerous, the researchers linked workers’ job histories to a national database with detailed job descriptions for each job. The basic finding here is that older Black workers tend to work in dangerous or difficult conditions in the first place.

This type of work is often physically demanding and includes tasks that expose them to pollutants and diseases or require them to work in an awkward or crowded environment, crouch, crawl or twist their bodies unnaturally or climb ladders and scaffolding.

In contrast to the Black workers in this study, older whites, not surprisingly, were more likely to work in office or supervisory roles where they had the freedom to make decisions, resolve conflicts and communicate face-to-face with co-workers. Of course, White workers are not free from dangerous situations either. They often work at high altitudes, such as line workers for a utility company, or are exposed to radiation or whole-body vibration when, for example, using a jackhammer.

But, overall, Black workers feel the pain of disabilities that force them to leave the workforce early. By doing so, they can experience a reduction in income immediately if they continue to be disabled or later, in their retirement income, if they have to start their Social Security retirement benefits soon after turning 62.

Although the Black-White disparity is clear, the researchers found little difference between the workplaces of Hispanics and non-Hispanic Whites or their decisions about retirement.

But for older Black workers who retire after having a disabling condition, the study concludes, “occupational exposure accounts for part of the racial difference.”

Reading this learn by Amanda Sonnega, Qize Chen, Dawn Carr, Qiuchang Cao, and Rebekah Carpenter, see “Racial and Ethnic Differences in Exposure to Lifetime and Preretirement Disability.”

The research reported here was conducted in accordance with a grant from the US Social Security Administration (SSA) funded as part of the Retirement and Disability Research Consortium. The views and conclusions expressed are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views or policy of SSA or any agency of the Federal Government. Neither the United States government nor any of its agencies, nor any of its employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal responsibility or liability for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of the contents of this report. Reference herein to any particular commercial product, process or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not imply endorsement, recommendation or favor by the United States Government or any agency thereof.