Monograph on economic implications of unemployment benefit for older workers in the USA - comments on legislation restricting unemployment insurance when old age benefits are received, examines impacts on equality of income distribution by age group, consumption, labour force participation and retirement decision making, and argues against restrictions and for a more stringent system of job searching requirements. Bibliography pp. 115 to 117, graphs and statistical tables.

The chapters in this volume come from a group of policy experts who advance our understanding of the labor market experiences of older workers while pointing out that current workforce programs often leave this growing population underserved.

In this study I estimate that about 23% to 47% of older American on-the-job seekers search for another job because they feel insecure at their current employment. I also analyze whether unemployment insurance (UI) affects this relationship between job insecurity and on-the-job search. I find evidence that UI discourages on-the-job search, which in turn reduces the probability of starting a new job at a different employer. The average estimated effects are moderate but they mask important heterogeneity. On one hand, UI does not affect the search behavior of workers who do not believe to be at risk of job loss. These workers make up the majority of the employed population over 50. On the other hand, however, the effects can be substantial for workers with high levels of job insecurity.

This study updates what we know about the Great Recession's impact on older unemployed Americans' health and pre-retirement life by focusing on their wealth and income sources, health insurance access, poverty rates, unemployment duration, labor force drop-out rates, and Social Security claiming from 2009 through 2012 using the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) and the Current Population survey (CPS). All this information helps evaluate how unemployed older Americans have weathered the Great Recession of 2007, five years later. We also analyze whether older workers' unemployment spells are structural in nature and we offer some solutions to this problem.

The surprise election of Donald J. Trump to the presidency of the United States marks a singular turning point in the American republic – not only because of his idiosyncratic approach to the office, but also because the Republican Party now holds the presidency and both houses of Congress, presenting a historic opportunity for change. The role of older Americans has been critical in both shaping and reacting to this political moment. Their political orientations and behaviors have shaped it through their electoral support for Republican candidates. But, older Americans stand as highly invested stakeholders in the policy decisions made by the very officials they elected and as beneficiaries of the programs that Republicans have targeted for cuts or elimination. This comprehensive volume explores the ways in which Trump administration policies are likely to significantly undermine the social safety net for near-elderly and older Americans, including long-term care, housing, health care, and retirement. The authors also explore how the Trump administration might shape politics and political behavior through the policy changes made. The response of older voters, in upcoming elections, to efforts by the Trump administration and its Republican allies in Congress to draw back on the federal government’s commitment to programs and policies affecting them will shape the direction of aging policy and politics for years to come. This book was originally published as a special issue of the Journal of Aging & Social Policy.