Such changes were heralded in 1986, when the Age Discrimination Employment Act (ADEA) of 1967 was amended to prohibit mandatory retirement on the basis of age for almost all workers. Tenured university employees of 70 or older were initially exempted, but they came under the law's protection in 1994. This raised the concern that too many older professors might continue working for too long, notes University of Florida sociology professor John C. Henretta. He adds that this generally has not happened. "In fields of major change occurring over time, it's quite easy to become obsolete," he observes with regard to scientific research. "My physics professor in college used to say, 'Old ideas don't die, their proponents do.'"
But Henretta also points out that retirement for leisure has only existed for a quarter century. While labor force participation among people 65 or over is currently only about 12 percent, whether or ...
