Economic Policy Institute discusses a troubling pattern. Historically, when the economy went south, a larger proportion of workers retired early. It isn’t clear whether they were offered packages, were sacked, or left for other reasons (say their job was redefined and they no longer enjoyed it), but the point is they left the workforce.
Now we see a change: the laborforce participation of older workers increases in bad times. And since underemployment still counts as employment, some of this cohort no doubt includes individuals who lost their jobs and still need a paycheck, but are bringing in less income than before.
From Monique Morrissey at Economic Policy Institute:
Younger workers struggling to find a job now have something else to worry about: older workers with little choice but to keep working, even in a weak labor market.The decades-long postwar trend toward earlier retirement reversed itself in the 1990s, as fewer workers found themselves covered by traditional defined-benefit pensions or had access to retiree health care benefits.
In the past, cyclical downturns in the economy prompted an increase in early retirements. As the chart shows, increases in the unemployment rate during the recessions of the early 1980s and 1990-91 were associated with upticks in the share of 60-64 year olds not in the labor force. Thus, retirees made way for younger workers entering the labor force when jobs were scarce.
But with 401(k)s replacing traditional pensions, early retirement may no longer be tied to labor market weakness. Instead, retirement decisions appear to be increasingly affected by gyrations in the housing and stock markets. Take, for example, this clear break from precedent—the uptick in early retirement during the late 1990s, a period when labor markets were actually very tight, but the stock market was booming. Early retirements subsequently declined after the stock market bubble burst and ushered in the 2001 recession.
This new trend toward later retirement is unlikely to reverse any time soon, as a recent survey showed a sharp drop in the share of workers confident they would be able to afford retirement, due to concerns about health care costs, the weakening economy, and declining home values.
Thai 
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The underlying reality is that the retirement age is advancing. Longevity is coinciding with a drop in savings (and the extinction of traditional pension plans) to push more people to work longer.
It’s about time politics reflected this reality. Every time there is a discussion of pushing back retirement benefits, it’s labeled as “cutting benefits for retirees.” Total nonsense, 60-somethings are not retired, they’re still working. Not long before 70 will be the new retirement age. Time to push benefits back.
But as you also highlighted, this is bad news for younger workers. Older workers staying put will reduce vacancies, especially for higher-paying positions, which will mean fewer promotions. Ossification of the corporate structure will be the result, and younger workers will pay the price by being perpetually stuck at entry-level positions.