Health and prolonging working lives: an advisory report of the Health Council of The Netherlands (original) (raw)
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Introduction: Key Issues and Policies for Extending Working Life
Extended Working Life Policies, 2020
Extended working life policies have been widely promoted in Europe and in wider international settings. However, to date, these policies have not, for the most part, taken sufficient account of the gender and health dimensions of working longer. This chapter outlines the empirical and policy landscapes that are present in Europe and several other countries. It examines the different meanings of 'extended working life' and the indicators used to justify raising the age of eligibility for a pension. Gender and health inequalities related to extended working life, such as gender pay and pension gaps and differential life expectancy rates are presented. The influence of the labour market on the employability of older workers is examined in the context of economic downturns and digitalisation. The chapter concludes that policy initiatives which meet the diverse needs of older workers and which address gender and health inequalities related to extended working should be a priority for governments and employers in the years ahead.
Extending Working Lives: A Systematic Review of Healthy Working Life Expectancy at Age 50
Social Indicators Research, 2020
Retirement ages for receipt of state/social pensions are rising in many countries in response to population ageing and increasing life expectancy. However, sickness absence and early retirement for health reasons (especially among adults aged ≥ 50) present challenges to this. Estimates of the average number of years people are both healthy and in work from age 50 are needed to inform policy making and assess the feasibility of policy changes. A systematic review was carried out to identify existing population indicators, and estimates, of life expectancy in health and work. Nine databases were systematically searched on the 30th January 2019. Eligible papers were identified using inclusion/exclusion criteria. Evidence synthesis was undertaken to explore indicators and estimates. Four studies were included for review from 1485 identified by the search. A narrative review was carried out; quantitative pooling of the results was not feasible due to high heterogeneity between studies. A...
Problems and Prospects for Current Policies to Extend Working Lives
Extended Working Life Policies
This chapter condenses several of the key takeaway points from earlier chapters on empirical, theoretical, and policy issues elucidated in Part One and provides readers with additional context to consider in their understanding of gender and health issues in the country-specific chapters upcoming in Part Two. First, we detail the central problematics associated with ageing populations and the policy initiatives taken so far to extend working lives. Next, we argue that for effective policymaking that would enable extended working lives, it is important to consider the interests of all of the actors affected and to pay attention to different problems that are highlighted by thinking through different levels of analysis-macro, meso, and micro. Further, we challenge the dominant rhetorical frame that policy initiatives undertaken recently have been about extending working lives, arguing instead that most countries' initiatives have been about delaying retirement. This has been embodied by policies very different from those that would be needed to ensure that older workers can remain employed longer in dignified, appropriate, and adequately compensated jobs. Both gender differences and variations in health status differentially empower older workers to continue in employment. Finally, we conclude that research and policymaking that improves understanding and the potential for extended working lives is essential, and that it must be sensitive to variations among differently advantaged subgroups of older people.
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Most European countries are gradually increasing the state pension age, but this may run counter to the capabilities and wishes of older workers. The objective of this study is to identify opportunities in the workplace for supporting a prolonged working life in different groups in the labour market. A representative sample of 11,200 employed workers ≥ 50 years responded to 15 questions in random order about opportunities at their workplace for supporting a prolonged working life. Respondents were stratified based on the Danish version of the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO). Using frequency and logistic regression procedures combined with model-assisted weights based on national registers, results showed that the most common opportunities at the workplace were possibilities for more vacation, reduction of working hours, flexible working hours, access to treatment, further education and physical exercise. However, ISCO groups 5–9 (mainly physical work and ...
Projections of healthy working life expectancy in England to the year 2035
Nature Aging, 2022
UK state pension age is rising in response to life expectancy gains but population health and job opportunities may not be sufficient to achieve extended working lives 1-3. This study aimed to estimate future trends in healthy working life expectancy (HWLE) from age 50 to 75 for men and women in England. Using the 'intercensal' health expectancy approach, annual period HWLE from 1996 to 2014 was estimated using cross-sectional Health Survey for England data and mortality statistics 4-7. HWLE projections until the year 2035 were estimated from Lee-Carter forecasts of transition rates 8. Projections of life expectancy from age 50 showed gains averaging 10.7 weeks (0.21 years) and 6.4 weeks (0.12 years) per calendar year between 2015 and 2035 for men and women respectively. HWLE has been extending in England but gains are projected to slow to an average of 1 week per year for men (0.02 years) and 2.8 weeks (0.05 years) per year for women between 2015 and 2035. Modest projected HWLE gains and the widening gap between HWLE and life expectancy from age 50 suggest that working lives are not extending in line with policy goals. Further research should identify factors that increase healthy working life. Population aging and further expected increases in life expectancy have led many countries to seek to extend working lives by increasing state pension age 1,9. For example, France, Germany and Spain will increase the state pension age to 67 years between 2023 and 2029 and the UK state pension age will increase to 67 by the end of 2028 with further increases to 68 expected to be brought forward to 2037-2039 (refs. 1,9). Achieving policy objectives to extend later working lives requires a sufficient proportion of people in the population to be able to work for longer, along with appropriate job opportunities. Poor physical and mental health as well as employment levels, job opportunities and the workplace environment are key reasons for early departure from the workforce-particularly in adults aged 50 and over 2,10-12. Socio-demographic factors are also linked to health and work outcomes; deprivation and lower educational attainment are associated with more health problems and lower levels of work 3,10,13,14. Sex and gender are associated with social, economic and biological determinants and consequences of health and illness 15,16. The links between health and work highlight the need to maintain a healthy workforce if policy changes to extend working lives are to be realized. Healthy Working Life Expectancy (HWLE), which is the average number of years from age 50 that people can expect to be healthy and in work, is lower than ten years in England 3,17,18. Life expectancy gains may not translate to increasing HWLE 3,17,18 since there is no consistent correlation between mortality rates and populations' burdens of poor health 19. Social inequalities in disability free life expectancy are growing in the UK and average gains in healthy life years are lagging behind the rest of Europe 20,21 .
Retirement, Health, and the Quality of Work in Europe
globalag.igc.org
Much has been written about the influence of pension rules on early retirement. Social security and pension arrangements create opportunities for employees to retire at various ages, using pathways created by old age pensions, disability pensions, sickness and unemployment ...
Identifying Contemporary Early Retirement Factors and Strategies to Enable Longer Working Lives
2019
Summary: Most people do not work to their country’s statutory retirement age, as early retirement is a common practice. A review of published research was done to identify factors associated with or determined to cause early retirement, and strategies to encourage and enable people to work longer in life. Content Outline: Accelerating population aging is raising concern over the availability of workers to fulfill essential work roles and responsibilities, but this is a particularly pressing issue for the healthcare sector. Population aging, coupled with an increase in chronic illnesses and also advanced or end-stage chronic illnesses, is increasing the volume of healthcare services. At the same time as the need for healthcare services is increasing, half of all nurses, physicians, and members of most other healthcare professional and paraprofessional groups are expected to retire over the next 10-15 years. Many do not work to their country’s statutory retirement age, as early retire...
Social Science & Medicine, 2019
Many countries are raising the age of pension eligibility because of increases in life expectancy. Given the social gradient in life expectancy and health, it is important to understand the potential late-life health effects of prolonging working life and whether any effects differ by socioeconomic position. We examined the effect of prolonging working life beyond age 65 on mortality and a series of indicators of late-life physical health (the ability to climb stairs without difficulty, self-rated health, ADL limitations, and musculoskeletal pain) in a representative sample of the Swedish population. In addition to average effects, we also examined heterogeneous effects, for instance by occupational social class. To do this, we use propensity score matching, a method suitable for addressing causality in observational data. The data came from two linked Swedish longitudinal surveys based on nationally representative samples with repeated follow-ups; The Swedish Level of Living Survey and the Swedish Panel Study of Living conditions of the Oldest Old, and from national income and mortality registries. The analytical sample for the mortality outcome included 1852 people, and for late-life physical health outcomes 1461 people. We found no significant average treatment effect on the treated (ATT) of working to age 66 or above on the outcomes, measured an average of 12 years after retirement: mortality (ATT-0.039), the ability to climb stairs (ATT-0.023), self-rated health (ATT-0.009), ADL limitations (ATT-0.023), or musculoskeletal pain (ATT-0.009) in late life. Analyses of whether the results varied by occupational social class or the propensity to prolong working life were inconclusive but suggest a positive effect of prolonging working life on health outcomes. Accordingly, more detailed knowledge about the precise mechanisms underlying these results are needed. In conclusion, working to age 66 or above did not have effect on mortality or late-life physical health.
Unequal tracks? Studies on work, retirement and health
2021
Background. In Sweden, the proportion of people aged 65 and older has doubled since 1950, and is projected to continue to increase. The increased longevity and proportion of older people in the population pose a challenge for financing and maintaining of the welfare, social security and pension systems. One way to address this challenge is through policy reforms aimed at raising the retirement age, increasing financial incentives for working beyond the official retirement age, abandoning or restricting early retirement routes, and prolonging the total employment period over the life span in order to receive full pension. The success of such reforms will partly depend on the health and working capacity of people in the upper end of their labour market career. In general, women have poorer health than men at all ages, and people with more socioeconomic resources have better health than those with fewer resources. Thus, women and men, as well as different socioeconomic groups, have var...