Thank you to Rob Coursey, Value Line Funds, who shared the following fact with me. Americans age 55 and older make up more than a fifth of the total labor force today (22.8%, seasonally adjusted), compared with 17.6% at the start of the Great Financial Crisis. Over the last 10 years, in fact, labor force participation has risen only among the 55-and-older contingent.  Source: Pew Research

Think that this is an anomaly? I don’t! At KCS, we believe that the 55-and-older crowd will continue to see their participation in the labor force grow. The elimination of defined benefit pensions in the private sector and the greater use of defined contribution plans will force employees to remain in the workforce for much longer periods of time, if they are lucky to have that option.