Worklife Expectancy: How Economists Project Remaining Work Years
Worklife expectancy is the number of additional years a person of a given age, sex, education, and labor force status is expected to be economically active. Forensic economists use published tables (Skoog-Ciecka-Krueger and predecessors) as the foundation for future earnings projections.
The concept
Rather than assuming a fixed retirement age, worklife expectancy applies transition probabilities between active and inactive labor force states (Skoog et al., 2011). The result is expected remaining active years based on observed population patterns.
How it is stratified
Tables are stratified by age, sex, education, and current labor force status (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, n.d.). The interaction of these factors produces different expected worklives for otherwise similar claimants.
Injury-specific adjustments
Frequently Asked Questions
Does worklife assume the claimant will retire at 65?
No. Worklife tables reflect observed active-inactive transitions across the population, which often extend past or end before age 65 depending on stratification.
Are worklife projections adjustable for individual circumstances?
Yes, when the record supports an adjustment (e.g., documented plan to work past normal retirement, severity-specific published adjustments). Documentation is essential.
Related
References
- Skoog, G. R., Ciecka, J. E., & Krueger, K. V. (2011). The Markov process model of labor force activity: Extended tables of central tendency, shape, percentile points, and bootstrap standard errors. Journal of Forensic Economics, 22(2), 165-229. doi.orgPeer-Reviewed
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (n.d.). Current Population Survey (CPS). U.S. Department of Labor. bls.govGovernment
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