Marc Freedman’s new book, The Big Shift, explains how demographic shifts are now creating the conditions for the new encore stage of life. He recognizes that our choices during this stage will have a wide impact on a society that has not, on average, saved enough for traditional retirement and cannot count on enough governmental benefits or company-provided pensions to make up the difference. The book also attempts to answer how to jump-start the big shift by sketching out 10 possibilities, including retraining, revamping of human resource policies, and providing a gap year for grown-ups.

RSVP celebrated its 40th anniversary with a look back at its amazing 40-year history of “people helping people.” RSVP is America’s largest volunteer network for people age 55 and over, offering a full range of volunteer opportunities with thousands of local and national organizations. The anniversary celebration included remarks from the Senior Corps director, Dr. Ewin Tan, and the release of this video showing program impact in communities across the country.

This study explores whether retirement and marital status made a difference in how men and women help others. Specifically, researchers set out to learn whether men replaced paid work with time spent helping others after retirement and whether divorced people spent less time caring for kin, reflecting weakened family ties. The findings shed light on the costs of caregiving and the quality of life of older people. Men who do not help others may be socially disconnected and not integrated into the kind of meaningful relationships important at older ages.

Washington University researchers Dr. Nancy Morrow-Howell, Stacey McCrary, and Yung Soo Lee examined the effects of civic service on subsequent social and civic activity of older volunteers in the Experience Corps® program (EC). EC brings older adults into public elementary schools to improve academic achievement of students through one-to-one tutoring, small group academic help, and assisting teachers. The data in this study was derived from a longitudinal study of older adults who were new EC volunteers in fall of 2006 and 2007.

Ann Maura Connolly, President of Voices for National Service, encourages lawmakers to look beyond all of the immediate budget cuts and consider making an investment in national service. She describes the importance of smart investments that will create employment opportunities, guarantee a return on taxpayers’ dollars, and empower organizations to use innovative and cost-effective approaches to solving pressing social challenges. Connolly strengthens her argument by pointing out that national service can better leverage federal investments by combining them with private support and community-based volunteers.