Title: Age Discrimination Still Thrives in America
Headings: Workplace Age Discrimination Still Flourishes in America
Workplace Age Discrimination Still Flourishes in America
It's time to step up and stop the last acceptable bias
Ageism: An accepted bias
AARP Is fighting age discrimination
ADEA and flawed laws
"I was still on my game, but was being moved … to make room for someone younger."
The company perspective on age bias
EEOC: A watchdog loses its bark
"The EEOC has significantly elevated the attention the agency gives to age discrimination issues."
Video: How to fight age discrimination in the workplace
Working toward solutions for age discrimination
Special Report: Age Discrimination in America
Age bias appears in thousands of job listings
Learn the language of age discrimination in the workplace
Court cases can leave older workers with little to celebrate
AARP is fighting to protect older workers

Content: 29 percent of U.S. households headed by someone age 55 or older have no retirement savings or pension, meaning they’ll have to continue working or rely on Social Security to survive. But if the only job that remains open to them is unskilled and minimum wage, what does their future hold? Older people who don’t feel useful are three times more likely to develop a disability and four times more likely to die prematurely, compared with counterparts who do feel useful, according to a 2007 study published in the Journals of Gerontology. If 30-plus years as a professional are suddenly thoroughly discounted by the business world, the effect on your health and longevity is undeniable. Paradoxically, what most companies do not seem to understand is that older workers possess a depth of knowledge and experience that’s worth paying for, is not easily replaced and can be tapped in many different ways. “People walk out of companies now with an enormous amount of intellectual property in their heads,” says Paul Rupert, the founder and CEO of Respectful Exits, a nonprofit consulting firm that’s raising corporate awareness about age discrimination. “ They know things that are essential to the company’s success, and if that knowledge is not captured and transmitted to the next generation, that company is losing a tremendous chunk of capital and it’ll eventually pay a price.” How did we get to this point? And how can we combat such widespread age discrimination? To answer these questions, the AARP Bulletin asked me to independently examine ageism in the workplace to determine why it is so prevalent and what can be done about it, to provide both a snapshot and a primer on the state of age discrimination in America.