In an era of rapid population ageing, many employment and social policies, practices and attitudes that discourage work at an older age have passed their sell-by date and need to be overhauled.
They not only deny older workers choice about when and how to retire but are costly for business, the economy and society. If nothing is done to promote better employment prospects for older workers, the number of retirees per worker in OECD countries will double over the next five decades. This will threaten living standards and put enormous pressure on the financing of social protection systems.
To help meet these daunting challenges, work needs to be made a more attractive and rewarding proposition for older workers. First, there must be strong financial incentives to carry on working and existing, subsidised pathways to early retirement have to be eliminated. Second, wage-setting and employment practices must be adapted to ensure that employers have stronger incentives to hire and retain older workers.
Third, older workers must be given appropriate help and encouragement to improve their employability. Finally, a major shift in attitudes to working at an older age will be required on the part of both employers and older workers themselves.
This report makes an important contribution to establishing a new agenda of age-friendly employment policies and practices. It draws out the main lessons that have emerged from the 21 country reviews which have been published separately under the OECD’s series on « Ageing and Employment Policies/Vieillissement et politiques de l’emploi »:
http://www.oecd.org/document/42/0,2340,en_2649_37435_36104426_1_1_1_37435,00.html