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Social Inequality in the Transition from Work to Retirement

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Handbook of Socioeconomic Determinants of Occupational Health

Part of the book series: Handbook Series in Occupational Health Sciences ((HDBSOHS))

Abstract

This article investigates social inequalities in the transition from work to retirement in times of extending working lives and political activation policies. Basic mechanisms of policies aimed at extending working lives (EWL) include penalizing early exit from employment and incentivizing later retirement, the latter by increasing fixed retirement ages and by rewarding employment at higher ages. Evidence from different fields of academic research indicates that each of these EWL mechanisms bears substantial risks for exacerbating social inequalities. Current empirical studies confirm these concerns with recent data. The inequalities discussed concern the workers’ health, finances, and social participation, factors that are strongly interrelated. Social groups at specific risk include those with lower educational achievements, with adverse working conditions, and with personal financial hardship (vertical social inequality) but also women and migrants (horizontal social inequality).

There is agreement that current EWL strategies, instead of exacerbating social inequalities, ought to consider and buffer them, which today is not the case. Based on their analyses and findings, some authors propose policy measures, most frequently differentiated retirement ages opening financially sustainable exit pathways for those with poor health. Others recommend the potential of life course views when implementing measures aimed at extending working lives. Also, policy measures such as improvements of work quality, qualification, and job security are recommended. Concerns have been expressed that EWL policies might fall short if they do not consider the group of older workers that cannot comply with the increased demands imposed on them.

Many scientific disciplines are investigating the transition from work to retirement. Occupational health research should add to how current EWL policies directly affect the older workforce with respect to health, finances, and employment and how they create and shape trajectories from work to retirement in later working life.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Occupational Health Science, University of Wuppertal, Wuppertal, Germany

    Hans Martin Hasselhorn

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  1. Hans Martin Hasselhorn
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Correspondence to Hans Martin Hasselhorn .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Stress Research Institute, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Stockholms Län, Sweden

    Töres Theorell

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  1. Department of Public Health, Kitasato University School of Medicine, Sagamihara, Japan

    Akizumi Tsutsumi

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Hasselhorn, H.M. (2020). Social Inequality in the Transition from Work to Retirement. In: Theorell, T. (eds) Handbook of Socioeconomic Determinants of Occupational Health. Handbook Series in Occupational Health Sciences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-05031-3_32-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-05031-3_32-1

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