24.3 million – Estimated number of 401(k) accounts left with former employers as of May 2021, with 2.8 million more left behind each year. If you have retirement assets with a former employer, you can leave them in the plan. But for more control, you can roll your assets to an IRA or to a new employer plan (if allowed) — both of which can preserve tax-advantaged status — or cash out, which will typically incur income taxes.
Source: Financial Planning, August 31, 2021
The labor force participation rate — the percentage of Americans age 16 and older who are working or actively looking for work — peaked in early 2000, when it began to drop due to aging baby boomers and more young people in college. Participation was rising before plummeting at the onset of the pandemic.
The rate has only partially recovered due in large part to accelerated retirement among workers age 55 and older. Other reasons include fewer child-care workers, reduced immigration, and many workers unwilling to return to low-paying jobs. Some experts believe it may never return to pre-pandemic levels. The question for the U.S. economy is whether technology and other productivity measures can maintain economic growth with a smaller percentage of the population in the workforce.
Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2016 & 2022; The Wall Street Journal, October 14, 2021; CNN, December 15, 2021
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