Primary Education Topic:
Legal & Ethical Issues
Other Education Topics:
Business & Aging
Leadership in Aging
Policy and Advocacy
Unconscious biases and rules that operate in the financial marketplace contribute to systemic inaction that leads to ageism.
By Jean Setzfand and Mike Watson
The topic of ageism and finances is broad, but nuanced. There are, however, two large, obvious clusters where age and money matters intersect: As people earn income, and as they save, manage, and protect their accumulated assets. Unfortunately, ageism in the workplace is common and will rise in notoriety, as the share of the workforce ages 55 and older will increase by 38 percent from 2010 to 2020 (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2012).