After 80 Years, Retirement Isn't What It Used to Be

Government Executive: On August 14, 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act into law—which makes today its 80th anniversary. Current estimates from the Social Security Administration say its trust fund will run out by 2033—two years before the program’s 100th anniversary.

In the years since its passage, Social Security (plus better health) has reshaped old age, making it possible for more and more older Americans to leave the workforce and enjoy retirement. But, as Dora Costa, an economics professor at UCLA, explains, the elderly were dropping out of the workforce well before the passage of Social Security:

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