Abstract
Many older people both want and need to work longer. But our society is deeply entrenched in ageist beliefs that devalue older workers. This article describes how philanthropy can play a critical role in catalyzing systems change by making focused investments in actionable research, narrative change, scalable models, and advocacy.
Key Words
Ageism, economic security, philanthropy, older workers, reframe aging
It is well known that older people are working far past traditional retirement years (U.S. Government Accountability Office, 2026). The good news is that many older people continue to be fulfilled by their careers; they want to continue working. The bad news is that a significant number of older people do not have the luxury of choice: They lack sufficient retirement income for reasons of circumstance or inequities over their lifespan, and must keep working to support their basic needs. Unexpected and rising costs, such as those related to housing, medical care, or caregiving, can deplete savings quickly. As a result, more older people remain active in the workforce.
Despite this greater need and larger pool of candidates, it is well-documented that older people find it hard to stay in the workforce or enter again once they have left or been laid off (AARP, 2026). We continue to hear about programs to “retrain” or “retool” older people, especially in regard to technology, but research has shown that many older people are already active technology users. For example, SHRM’s older worker survey found that 81% of older workers are “somewhat confident” or “very confident” in their ability to learn and adapt to new workplace technologies (SHRM, 2025). Research like this has led the RRF Foundation for Aging’s Trustees and staff to the conclusion that perhaps it is not older people who need to change, but the workplace itself.
Changing the workplace is a heavy lift. Some foundations shy away from efforts in the for-profit space with the belief that private foundations cannot influence the market economy. But in fact, this is the type of systems-level change that foundations, even those of us with relatively small endowments, should support. Private philanthropy can—and should—catalyze work with the potential to scale and create real change. At RRF Foundation for Aging (RRF), we have been pushing ourselves to think strategically about impact. As we review potential projects, we ask ourselves, “does this work have a profound, positive, enduring effect on large numbers of older people?” This is the systems-level work in which we are most invested. RRF has approached this work through the following strategies.
Start talking about ageism
Far too many employers fail to see the value of older workers and make inaccurate assumptions, most frequently about their familiarity with technology, intentions to exit the workforce for retirement and willingness to learn new skills.
Ageism is a driving force behind many of the issues affecting older workers. Far too many employers fail to see the value of older workers and make inaccurate assumptions, most frequently about their familiarity with technology, intentions to exit the workforce for retirement, and willingness to learn new skills. In order to combat this ingrained ageism, RRF has expanded our strategic plan to include Age Equity, specifically focusing on reducing ageism toward older adults and challenging age bias. Quite obviously, the workforce is one of many places where we see the effects of ageism. It is deeply embedded in our culture and social fabric, where it is often an invisible force that shapes policies, practices, and everyday interactions. It can impact our health, longevity and well-being while also having far-reaching economic consequences.
RRF is interested in bringing visibility to this issue across multiple areas in order to identify and disseminate best practices. For example, we have funded research through the Washington University in St. Louis Harvey A. Friedman Center for Aging, which focuses on how older people understand, experience, and react to interpersonal and internalized ageism. The Center’s goal is to develop a culturally sensitive intervention to help older adults confront and overcome ageism. Early efforts include focus groups where participants discussed ageism in the workplace. These conversations highlighted participant perceptions that “employees are overlooked and/or treated unfairly based on age.” One participant stated, “An employer said, ‘You’re getting really too old for this.’”
RRF is actively looking to advance work that identifies and addresses age bias embedded in laws, policies, organizational practices, and systems (e.g., health, housing, and employment), with an emphasis on building the evidence case for action to achieve scalable and sustainable change. These efforts will complement and enhance interventions at the workforce level. Fortunately, we are not the only ones committed to this effort. Next50 also elevates ageism to a core priority area in their funding portfolio, and a number of philanthropic partners, such as the The John A. Hartford Foundation, The SCAN Foundation, and Archstone Foundation have funded efforts that directly address ageism.
Change the narrative
Ageist beliefs lead to myths about older workers. Private philanthropy can invest in initiatives that encourage narrative change. Employers need to internalize the message that an intergenerational workforce is beneficial.
RRF Foundation for Aging has partnered with the SHRM Foundation to support the development of the Age of Opportunity: Older Workers Microcertificate for human resource managers. This virtual, interactive training focuses on changing workplace policies, practices, and culture to prioritize the hiring and retention of older workers.
SHRM has recognized that HR professionals are the gatekeepers for the hiring process. It is therefore essential that these individuals, who post jobs, review resumes, and train managers on hiring practices, believe in the benefit that older workers bring to the workforce. SHRM’s certificate program specifically addresses this through three modules:
- Understanding and Valuing Older Workers
- Building an Intergenerational Workforce that Values Older Workers
- Maximizing the Generational Workforce
As an organization with a membership of over 325,000, SHRM has the ability to change the way that companies are thinking about hiring and retaining older workers.
RRF is actively looking to advance work that identifies and addresses age bias embedded in laws, policies, organizational practices, and systems (e.g., health, housing, and employment), with an emphasis on building the evidence case for action to achieve scalable and sustainable change.
The systems change approach is also what excited us most about the University of Iowa’s Age Inclusive Management System project, called AIMS. As an early investor, along with Next50, private philanthropy has been able to catalyze an innovative model to support systems change.
Many of the proposals that RRF has received in the past about older workers focus on the changing the individual through expanded skills training or job search support. AIMS, in contrast, focuses on the role of employers in supporting economic security and well-being in later life. It changes the narrative and puts the onus on employers to create an environment in which older workers can thrive and be most productive. For example, older people are more likely to continue working if offered flexible scheduling, caregiving support, retirement savings programs, and retirement counseling. These are not easy changes to make, but if we can change the narrative about the role of the employer, it lays the groundwork for significant systems level change.
Fund nationally scalable models
Private philanthropy is well positioned to invest in testing best practice models to identify those that can be successfully scaled. An example of this type of model is the University of Massachusetts and Lasell University’s Age Friendly University effort. One of the core insights from their initial research using the age-friendly university inventory and campus climate surveys was that creating age-friendly campuses goes beyond preparing for older learners; age-friendly universities support older employees on the university campus. Surveys and focus group responses reflected perceived limitations in professional development and advancement opportunities for older faculty and staff, age biases in employment practices, and a lack of recognition of long-standing employees (Silverstein et al., 2024). In a follow-up project, the research team expanded their efforts to look at strategies to enhance workplace environments in higher education.
Recommendations included:
- Establishing a positive culture of late-career engagement and retirement (e.g., offer phased retirement and/or alternative workload options);
- Providing opportunities for experienced internal candidates to apply for higher-level staff positions; and
- Creating job ads and application processes that are open and accessible to older as well as younger applicants.
Twenty-five universities participated in this study and interest in the age-friendly university model continues to grow. We believe that replication in higher education has real potential and could be scaled broadly.
Share data
Systems change requires an understanding of the issue. Whether one is building a case for a new policy, creating a regulation, or developing articles for a news journal, quality data is needed. Information is needed by policymakers, advocates, and journalists to craft effective messages. Private philanthropy can support the collection, analysis, and dissemination of essential data.
For example, RRF supported the development and dissemination of the Older Workers and Retirement Chartbook, produced by The New School’s Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis and the Economic Policy Institute. This is an online tool that provides 34 timely, interactive, and easily shareable charts and graphs illustrating disparities in retirement preparedness and explores the links between labor market challenges facing older workers and retirement insecurity. The Chartbook includes a chapter that identifies the economic challenges faced by older workers, including involuntary retirement, physically demanding jobs, and discrimination. The data was used to describe the need to improve access to decent jobs as a complement to, rather than substitute for, retirement readiness. The key to this work is that it is producing “actionable data.” Data from the Chartbook has already been used and cited by policymakers, in briefings on the Hill, and in news articles.
Embrace Advocacy
We make significant impact on the lives of older workers when we can change the policies and regulations that support the older workforce. Many funders avoid advocacy out of fear or confusion, especially around lobbying rules. But foundations can fund advocacy and most importantly, they can fund the education that policymakers and stakeholders need to put good policies into practice.
A straightforward example is advocacy to ensure the continuation of the Senior Community Employment Program (SCSEP). This program, which is part of the Older Americans Act, has been on the federal budget chopping block almost every year in recent history. This program supports low-income older people to work at community organizations and helps participants to leverage their job skills to full-time employment. While this program is limited in its scope, it is the only workforce development program specifically developed for older people. RRF has supported advocacy efforts through both National ABLE and National Council on Aging that have directly resulted in the continuation of this program.
At RRF, we want to ensure our employees can age well and support their loved ones to do the same. We believe that an intergenerational workforce brings diversity of opinion and experience to our conversations and ultimately makes us better funders.
Since SCSEP is the only workforce program focused on older people, more can be accomplished in this space. Private philanthropy can potentially support additional advocacy efforts to integrate older worker initiatives into existing workforce development programs through the Department of Labor. For example, older workers could have access to the types of apprenticeships currently available to younger workers.
Another current opportunity for investment by private philanthropy is supporting the development of Multisector Plans on Aging (MPAs). These are state-specific 10-year blueprints that create a coordinated system for restructuring state and local policies to address the unique needs of older people. By implementing age-inclusive policies and infrastructure at the community level, these plans encourage healthy, active, and connected living for older adults. MPAs are spearheaded by the state and require input and collaboration across state agencies and departments. These plans provide an opportunity to include workforce and age inclusive practices to support older workers statewide.
MPAs need support to get off the ground, build partnerships, and secure buy-in from stakeholders long before they are incorporated into legislation. RRF supported the collaborative efforts and community feedback process that laid the groundwork for an MPA in Illinois and then partnered closely with public-sector leaders in Illinois to position the state for a successful launch of its MPA. Similarly, The SCAN Foundation and other grantmaking peers were key foundational partners in the creation of California’s MPA, helping to spark and sustain this important national movement.
Speak out with credibility
We cannot genuinely support systems change unless we are walking the walk. At RRF, we want to ensure our employees can age well and support their loved ones to do the same. We believe that an intergenerational workforce brings diversity of opinion and experience to our conversations and ultimately makes us better funders. While our staff is small, we range in age from our mid-20s to early 80s. Since inception, we have provided generous healthcare and retirement benefits to all employees. We also try to live our values by supporting caregiving as a fundamental employee benefit formally integrated into our PTO policies and normalized within our culture.
Our efforts, in collaboration with our funding partners, show that foundations of all sizes can make systems-level change through small investments in a range of strategies, from actionable research to narrative change, scalable models, and advocacy for policy change including legislative or regulatory action. But we also keep in mind that making the workforce more age-inclusive is a long-game approach, not a quick win. And we cannot do it alone.
Anne Posner is the Director of Strategy and Operations and Senior Program Officer at RRF Foundation for Aging. She has been at RRF for seven years and has been working in the field of Aging for over 20 years. RRF Foundation for Aging, a national grantmaking organization, is one of the few private foundations in the U.S. devoted to aging issues. Implementation of RRF’s strategic plan calls for increasingly focused and proactive grantmaking, collaboration, and knowledge sharing. RRF has a strong commitment to eliminating ageism.
Photo credit: Shutterstock/StudioRomantic
References
AARP. (2026, March 2). Worried you’re being pushed out of your job? You’re not alone. https://www.aarp.org/work/age-discrimination/age-bias-survey-2026.html
SHRM. (2025). Age of opportunity: Redefining talent with the 65-and-over workforce. SHRM Foundation. https://www.shrm.org/content/dam/en/shrm/foundation/2025_untapped_talent_age_of_opportunity_redefining_talent_with_the_65-and-over_workforce.pdf (SHRM)
Silverstein, N. M., Whitbourne, S. K., Bowen, L. M., & Montepare, J. M. (2024, April 12). How age-inclusive is your campus? Use the age-friendly inventory and campus climate survey (ICCS) to find out. Gerontological Society of America. https://gsaenrich.geron.org/age-inclusivity-in-higher-education
U.S. Government Accountability Office. (2026, January 29). Older workers: Department of Labor should help state and local partners share promising practices (GAO-26-107439). https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-26-107439
