Workers' Comp News

Study: Aging Work Force Won't Drive Up Comp Costs

Contrary to conventional wisdom and what other research has shown, the aging work force may not have a significant effect on workers' compensation costs, according to a study by the Workers Compensation Research Institute, Cambridge, Mass.

The study of eight large states (not Ohio) found that even though the number of older workers is expected to double between 1995 and 2020, the trend in workers' compensation costs is largely unaffected by the future aging of the work force. The impact of age on costs was greater during the 1970s, 1980s and early 1990s, when baby boomers were moving into middle age, when costs of a typical claim tend to rise. That trend appears to flatten out after middle age.

The study reported that older workers have only slightly higher claims costs than do middle-aged workers. In addition, the study found that older workers tend to file fewer claims, which offsets their higher average costs per claim.