A paper provided a gender analysis of the working and employment conditions of older workers (aged 50 and over) in European countries.
Source: Patricia Vendramin and Gerard Valenduc, A Gender Perspective on Older Workers' Employment and Working Conditions, European Trade Union Institute
Links: Paper | ETUI press release
Date: 2014-Sep
A report examined the changing nature of the ageing workforce in the United Kingdom and considered the main challenges facing unions. The report made a range of recommendations, on topics including: the recognition of diversity within the older workforce; the tailoring of work to older workers; career development issues; and unemployment among older workers.
Source: Matt Flynn, Representing an Ageing Workforce: Challenges and opportunities for trade unions, Trades Union Congress
Date: 2014-Aug
A new book examined pensions reforms measures in the United Kingdom, Germany, France, and the United States of America. It said that, despite differences in the pensions systems, similar measures had been taken to encourage or impose delayed take-up of state pensions, and it explored the underlying policy rationale and aims, and whether they addressed the same problem.
Source: Catherine Blair, Securing Pension Provision: The challenge of reforming the age of entitlement, Palgrave Pivot
Links: Summary
Date: 2014-Aug
An article examined how governments used powers afforded through business and welfare systems to affect change in the organizational management of older workers. Drawing on national stakeholder interviews in the United Kingdom and Japan, and the framework of Institutional Entrepreneurship, it said that although both governments had adopted a 'light-touch' approach to work and retirement, the highly institutionalized Japanese system afforded the government greater leverage in changing employer practices than that of the liberal UK system.
Source: Matthew Flynn, Heike Schroeder, Masa Higo, and Atsuhiro Yamada, 'Government as institutional entrepreneur: extending working life in the UK and Japan', Journal of Social Policy, Volume 43 Issue 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2014-Jul
A report examined the extent to which employment support met the needs of older jobseekers. It made a range of recommendations to government, including: to prioritize older jobseekers within employment support; to improve the effectiveness of support delivered to older jobseekers; and to stimulate employer demand for older workers.
Source: Sarah Foster, Jane Colechin, Paul Bivand, and Rowan Foster, Employment Support for Unemployed Older People, Centre for Economic and Social Inclusion
Links: Report
Date: 2014-Jul
A report examined the business case for older workers in the United Kingdom, and outlined government policy activity that was directed at the issue. New and ongoing policy rollouts (some of which related to the whole of the UK, others only to England) included: ongoing benefits changes, including the rollout of universal credit; a new national strategy; a new health and work service to provide occupational health assessment for older workers on extended sickness absence; extension of the right to request flexible working; the appointment of an older workers' employment champion, and campaigns to promote older workers to employers; changes to the state pension age (to 67) and to the eligibility for pension credit; and research in a range of areas, including pilots for the use of assistive technology for people with disabilities and their carers, trials of various provision for older jobseekers, trials of different forms of back-to-work and in-work support, and work to investigate the financial (dis)incentives for older workers. A second report, published alongside, set out the background research and statistics for this report.
Source: Fuller Working Lives A Framework for Action, Department for Work and Pensions
Links: Report | DWP press release | Written ministerial statement | TAEN press release
Source: Fuller Working Lives Background Evidence, Department for Work and Pensions
Links: Report | DWP press release | Written ministerial statement | TAEN press release
Date: 2014-Jun
A report said that the introduction of a state pension window, rather than a fixed retirement age, in the United Kingdom would help to meet people's desire for more flexibility on when they could access their state pension. It suggested that the window should range from age 65 to age 75, with an adjustment to the amount of the pension (according to the point of actual retirement) to encourage later retirement.
Source: One Size Fits None: Does the flexible workforce of the future need a flexible state pension age?, PricewaterhouseCoopers
Links: Report | PWC press release
Date: 2014-Apr
A report examined critical issues related to an ageing workforce in Northern Ireland, outlining the barriers faced by those wanting to continue working into older age, and their support, training, and policy needs. The report made recommendations for policy makers and employers.
Source: Ben Franklin, Working Longer in Northern Ireland: Valuing an ageing workforce, International Longevity Centre – UK
Links: Report | ILC press release | Commissioner for Older People press release
Date: 2014-Mar
An article examined the relationship between age and training in 15 European Union countries. Older people were less likely to participate in both training in general and work-related training.
Source: Fiona Carmichael and Marco Ercolani, 'Age-training gaps in the European Union', Ageing and Society, Volume 34 Issue 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2014-Mar
A survey for a trade union examined the workplace experiences of women aged over 50. The report said that over 60 per cent of women in this age group worked full-time, with a further 20 per cent working 25-34 hours per week and over half of women aged between 60 and 64 in full-time work. It said that 33 per cent of respondents would increase their hours if they could, but 40 per cent of those working full-time would like to reduce their hours. Most women did not feel that they had good promotion opportunities, and fewer than 50 per cent had said they had good opportunities for training. The report noted policy issues for the union to consider further.
Source: Women Deserve Better: A better deal for women aged 50 and over in employment, Labour Research Department/UNISON
Links: Report | UNISON press release
Date: 2014-Mar
An article examined how work, marital, and fertility history affected the likelihood of women extending their employment beyond the state pension age. Women were extending paid work for financial reasons to make up for 'opportunity costs' as a result of their caring role within the family, with short breaks due to caring, lengthy marriages, divorcing, and remaining single with children all being important. On the other hand, lengthy detachment (due to caring) from the labour market made extending working life more difficult.
Source: Naomi Finch, 'Why are women more likely than men to extend paid work? The impact of work-family life history', European Journal of Ageing, Volume 11 Number 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2014-Mar
An article examined differences in work restrictions of mid-life family carers of older people in 6 European countries (including the United Kingdom). Work restrictions were relatively high in the UK.
Source: Andrea Principi, Giovanni Lamura, Cristina Sirolla, Liz Mestheneos, Barbara Bien, Jayne Brown, Barbro Krevers, Maria Gabriella Melchiorre, and Hanneli Dohner, 'Work restrictions experienced by midlife family care-givers of older people: evidence from six European countries', Ageing and Society, Volume 34 Issue 2 publication
Links: Abstract
Date: 2014-Feb
An article examined how the impact of retirement on self-assessed illness varied spatially. The rise in illness rates with age slowed or declined at retirement age, indicating possible health improvement after retirement. The effect was negligible in the affluent south-east region and most prominent in the coalfield and former industrial districts. It was attributable to hidden unemployment and health-related selective migration, but additionally in certain areas retirement was associated with improvements in self-assessed health.
Source: Alan Marshall and Paul Norman, 'Geographies of the impact of retirement on health in the United Kingdom', Health and Place, Volume 20
Links: Abstract
Date: 2014-Feb
An article examined the extent to which becoming a grandparent affected early retirement in European countries. Becoming a grandparent was found to speed up retirement, especially at around the ages of 55 and 60. However, the effect was statistically significant only for women, not for men.
Source: Jan Van Bavel and Tom De Winter, 'Becoming a grandparent and early retirement in Europe', European Sociological Review, Volume 29 Number 6
Links: Abstract
Date: 2014-Feb