There are a number of key European policy agendas related to older people on which the DIAL research can shed light. This policy brief gives an overview of findings from DIAL projects in this area.
Key Findings
- Differences between countries in retirement ages are narrowing over time.
- Workers are increasingly encouraged to work up to state retirement age rather than retiring early. Despite this, women tend to retire earlier than men, though this gender gap is narrowing.
- There are big gaps between employment sectors in numbers of older workers, and a major driver of this is stigma in white-collar areas such as finance.
- Employers tend to want more highly-skilled older workers, yet those who want work tend to be less well qualified and to have gaps in their employment history or to have caring responsibilities.
- Greater understanding of the motivation to remain – particularly in relation to women whose careers may have begun late or who may want to escape caring responsibilities at home – could lead to useful policy initiatives.