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President Obama hasn’t (yet) championed an encore careers initiative, but pieces of such an agenda already are emerging in the administration’s plans and proposals. (For more on the rationale for such an encore careers initiative, see "Social + Security = Encore Careers.")

Vice President Biden’s new task force on middle class working families has among its mandates "expanding education and lifelong training opportunities,” “improving work and family balance,” and “protecting retirement security."

All three of those goals, and more, can be achieved through encore careers. Several specific proposals would help those eager to extend their working lives with jobs that combine continued income with personal fulfillment and social impact. Among them:

• Extend health benefits for workers 55 and older. One provision of the stimulus package approved by the House would enable people 55 and older and those who have worked for the same company for at least 10 years to stay in the employer’s health care plan (but pay their own premiums) until they are eligible for Medicare at 65 or obtain health care coverage from a new employer. Under current law, the so-called COBRA benefits are generally available for only 18 months.
• Increase access to higher education for lower-income individuals. The stimulus package also includes a benefit for the nearly four million low- to middle-income students who have not been eligible for tuition tax credits, such as the Hope tax credit, because they didn’t pay enough income tax to qualify for the credit. The measure makes tuition tax breaks refundable for up to $1,000. The credit may also be applied to educational expenses such as books, room and board, or transportation expenses. However, the expenses must still be paid up-front, with the refundable tax break coming in after taxes are filed.
• Expand encore career pathways. The Kennedy-Hatch Serve America Act , which Obama has promised to sign, vastly expands national service opportunities and provides incentives for older adults. The bill establishes special “Encore Fellowships” for those who wish to transition to longer-term public service.
• Eliminate income taxes for older adults making less than $50,000. Another Obama proposal would make more attractive encore careers that pay less than $50,000 by exempting that income from income taxes. This could mean more social workers, teaching assistants, after school program workers, and environmental advocates, to name only a few appealing encore positions. The provision would also relieve millions of older adults from filing tax returns and save an average of $1,400 each year for about 7 million people.
• Expand retirement savings incentives and options for working families. Obama also has proposed a match of 50 percent of the first $1,000 of retirement savings for all families earning less than $75,000. Another part of his plan would require employers who do not offer retirement plans to enroll their employees in direct-deposit IRA accounts. Additional retirement assets provide increased freedom – including the freedom to pursue an encore career.

Encore.org members have their own ideas about how the new administration and Congress could enable more people to transition to encore careers, including providing a health insurance award as an alternative to the education award for Americorps service and creating a Knowledge Corps to tap the experience of older adults.

What are your ideas and suggestions?