When it Comes to Older Workers, Employers Need to Think Differently about Risks

Conference Insights

While workers 65 and up don't make a up a huge chunk of the working population, Baby Boomers have stayed on the job more than seniors did in previous generations.

At NCCI's Annual Insights Symposium, Practice Leader and Senior Actuary Paul Hendrick noted that older workers bring new challenges to employers, who will continue to see Boomers on the job for a variety of reasons.

"Improvements in medicine, a declining prevalence of pensions for retirement, and a need for human connection are factors keeping Boomers working," Hendrick explained.

Different Risks

With aging workers, falls and slips are "greatly overrepresented" as workplace injuries, Hendrick explained.

"More than half of falls with this age group are on level surfaces or otherwise without aggravating factors," Hendrick said. "So, employers are overlooking factors that are not a material risk for younger workers but could be devastating to older workers."

Additionally, aging brings with it increased comorbidities, particularly in the form of higher rates of obesity and diabetes.

Likewise, an increased risk of surgical intervention comes with injuries that befall the 65-and-up group, meaning that frequency and severity are issues employers may have to face.

What Industries?

The economy is currently in a "low hire, low fire" phase, according to Hendrick, meaning workers in their jobs are likely to stay there for a while.

One industry that tends not to be affected by aging is construction, where the workforce skews younger.

On the other hand, leisure and hospitality is seeing a different trend.

"It's becoming a transition for workers who retire from their main career," Hendrick noted. "It's also an industry in which wages have grown rapidly from the pandemic."

When it comes to all workers, but especially older employees, there are some positive trends across industries.

"Thanks to GLP-1s, obesity rates have declined," Hendrick said. "That's important because with obesity comes a higher likelihood of injury and slower recovery."

While a slimming workforce is good news for employers, other factors that politics affects, such as declining health insurance access and Medicaid participation, may complicate workers' compensation, as workers' health status might decline.

"Poor health puts workers at greater risk on the job," Hendrick said.

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