A think-tank report examined ageing in Britain and considered options for helping older people to remain in work, and to remain connected with their local communities.
Source: Kayte Lawton, Getting Older and Staying Connected, Institute for Public Policy Research
Links: Report
Date: 2013-Dec
A report said that European governments seeking higher levels of participation by older workers should focus on improving the skills of the older workforce, supporting more older women in work, and improving health.
Source: David Sinclair, Jessica Watson and Brian Beach, Working Longer: An EU perspective, International Longevity Centre – UK
Links: Report | ILC press release
Date: 2013-Sep
An article examined whether people in Europe were more likely to be pulled toward retirement by their expectations about life after retirement than they were to be pushed out of the labour market due to poor health or dislike of their job. At the individual level, it was found that older workers were pushed out due to health problems as well as being attracted towards retirement to spend time with their grandchildren. At the institutional level, financial incentives such as a high implicit tax on continued work and high expenditures on early exit schemes made retirement attractive, whereas the institutional push context was of lesser importance.
Source: Hanne De Preter, Dorien Van Looy, and Dimitri Mortelmans, 'Individual and institutional push and pull factors as predictors of retirement timing in Europe: a multilevel analysis', Journal of Aging Studies, Volume 27 Issue 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Sep
A paper said that although many older workers would prefer to reduce their working hours ('the overemployed'), there was a significant group who would like to work longer hours ('the underemployed'). Since the onset of the global economic recession, underemployment among older workers had been growing more rapidly than unemployment. Overemployment was a significant predictor of retirement among employees, whereas underemployed employees were less likely to retire.
Source: David Bell and Alasdair Rutherford, Older Workers and Working Time, Discussion Paper 7546, Institute for the Study of Labor (Bonn)
Links: Paper
Date: 2013-Aug
A think-tank report identified a series of disincentives and barriers that continued to prevent better labour market integration for an ageing workforce in European countries. It presented a series of concrete policy measures designed to create better opportunities for older workers.
Source: Laura Naegele, Eric Thode, and Claire Dheret, Second Career Labour Markets: Assessing challenges – advancing policies, Bertelsmann Foundation/European Policy Centre
Links: Report | Bertelsmann Foundation press release
Date: 2013-Jun
An article examined the levels of job satisfaction reported by older workers (aged 50-64), with and without disability, using data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe. Overall job satisfaction reported by disabled workers was significantly affected by levels of satisfaction with the recognition of the work, support in difficult situations, and physical effort.
Source: Ricardo Pagan, 'Job satisfaction and domains of job satisfaction for older workers with disabilities in Europe', Journal of Happiness Studies, Volume 14 Number 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Jun
A paper examined the determinants of planned retirement from work in European countries – including personal as well as work-related characteristics, and some characteristics of national pension systems. The interaction between planned retirement age and personal and work-related variables was not identical across Europe. Sex as well as country type needed to be taken into consideration. There was tentative evidence that European Union states were at different phases of the transition from physically demanding to intellectually demanding work environments, which related to earlier planned retirement where working was physically more demanding.
Source: Monika Riedel and Helmut Hofer (with Birgit Woegerbauer), Determinants of the Transition from Work into Retirement, Working Paper 17.1, NEUJOBS Research Project (European Commission)
Links: Paper
Date: 2013-May
An article said that work factors had a greater impact on European women's retirement timing than they did for men; and that both men's and women's retirement timing was influenced by the interplay of work and life.
Source: Hanne De Preter, Dorien Van Looy, Dimitri Mortelmans, and Kim Denaeghel, 'Retirement timing in Europe: the influence of individual work and life factors', The Social Science Journal, Volume 50 Issue 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-May
A study examined European initiatives at national and sectoral level, taken by governments and social partners, designed to keep older workers in the labour market. Some measures involved financial incentives to work longer, and others looked at ways to enhance working conditions. The report highlighted the importance of the social partners and social dialogue, both in the implementation of measures aimed at extending working life and in awareness-raising among employers and employees.
Source: Toms Feifs, Claire Duchemin, and Tina Weber, Role of Governments and Social Partners in Keeping Older Workers in the Labour Market, European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions
Links: Report
Date: 2013-May
An article examined the relationship between health and employment in older age. It said that planned rises in the age at which state pensions were payable needed to be accompanied by policies that improved the health of older people, and by changes in workplace practices to facilitate longer working lives.
Source: Fiona Carmichael, Claire Hulme, and Lorna Porcellato, 'Older age and ill-health: links to work and worklessness', International Journal of Workplace Health Management, Volume 6 Issue 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-May
A study provided an overview of the employment situation of young and old workers in European Union member states, and policies implemented to promote the employment of both groups. The evidence showed that there was no competition between young and older workers in the labour market. Structural or general policies to enhance the functioning of EU labour markets were crucial to improving the situation of both groups.
Source: Werner Eichhorst, Tito Boeri, Michela Braga, An De Coen, Vicenzo Galasso, Maarten Gerard, Michael Kendzia, Christine Mayrhuber, Jakob Louis Pedersen, Ricarda Schmidl, and Nadia Steiber, Combining the Entry of Young People in the Labour Market with the Retention of Older Workers, European Parliament
Links: Report
Date: 2013-Apr
A report examined initiatives in Europe at national or sectoral level taken by governments and social partners to keep older workers in the labour market. Some measures involved financial incentives to work longer, whereas others looked at ways to enhance working conditions.
Source: Role of Governments and Social Partners in Keeping Older Workers in the Labour Market, European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions
Date: 2013-Apr
A paper examined transitions out of work for 26 European Union countries over the period 2004 2009 in order to identify the determinants of retirement. Income, together with flexible working arrangements, was found to be important as regards early retirement decisions, compared with retiring beyond the legal retirement age. Institutional measures (such as state/health benefits and minimum retirement age) could not be sufficient by themselves if individuals withdrew earlier from the labour market due to a weakening of their health.
Source: Ted Aranki and Corrado Macchiarelli, Employment Duration and Shifts into Retirement in the EU, LEQS Paper 58/2013, London School of Economics
Links: Paper
Date: 2013-Mar
A paper examined transitions out of work for 26 European Union countries over the period 2004–2009 in order to investigate the determinants of retirement.
Source: Ted Aranki and Corrado Macchiarelli, Employment Duration and Shifts into Retirement in the EU, Working Paper 1517, European Central Bank
Links: Paper
Date: 2013-Feb
An article examined labour market and family experiences from late adolescence to retirement age among a group of older adults, and how these experiences were related to economic resources and health at age 65. Five latent life paths broadly characterized the work and family experiences of older adults in the sample. They were distinguished by gender, labour market and family care activities, marital status, and the presence of children in the household. Better economic resource and mental health outcomes were found among the pathways describing predominantly male experiences: but the heterogeneity of women's experiences should also be noted, and their implications for economic and health outcomes at retirement age.
Source: Laurie Corna and Amanda Sacker, 'A lifetime of experience: modeling the labour market and family histories of older adults in Britain', Longitudinal and Life Course Studies, Volume 4 Number 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Feb
A report set out a series of policy recommendations aimed at achieving the many potential benefits from active ageing in European workplaces.
Source: Laura Naegele, Eric Thode, and Claire Deret, Creating Second Career Labour Markets: Towards more employment opportunities for older workers, European Policy Centre (Brussels)/Bertelsmann Stiftung
Links: Report | European Commission press release
Date: 2013-Feb
A special issue of a journal examined issues affecting the future of work and retirement in the United Kingdom and Europe, including developments in the policy arena, factors influencing career decisions in middle and late life, and changing transitions from work to retirement.
Source: Human Relations, Volume 66 Number 1
Links: Table of contents
Date: 2013-Jan
