The Fact
Urban Institute analysis of longitudinal Health and Retirement Study data found that workers who experienced an employer-related involuntary separation after age 50 had substantially less household wealth later than otherwise similar workers who avoided such separations. The estimated wealth penalty persisted six or more years after the separation.
What This Means
A late-career job loss can outlive the period of unemployment. Lost earnings, interrupted saving, and the difficulty of fully replacing an established job can still be visible in household finances years later.
Sources
- Johnson, Richard W., and Peter Gosselin. “How Secure Is Employment at Older Ages?” Urban Institute, 2018. Health and Retirement Study longitudinal analysis.