Employee perks for older workforce could be next trend

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – America's workforce is getting older and companies are getting creative to offer more perks.

Companies are offering part-time work and helping transition into new fields, according to Barron's. 

People age 55 and older are expected to make up a quarter of the U.S. workforce by 2026, and the number of workers ages 65 to 74 is projected to grow by 4.2 percent a year, between 2016 and 2026.

In a survey conducted by Willis Towers Watson, of 143 large U.S. employers late last year, 30 percent of respondents said they currently allow workers to change positions, and that share is expected to increase to more than 50 percent by 2020.

A quarter of respondents offer part-time employment as an option, and that’s expected to increase to 45 percent by 2020.

Nearly half of respondents allow their retired employees who are collecting benefits to work as consultants, and that’s expected to reach 60 percent by 2020.