What determines the perceived productivity of the older worker and how does this perception compare to the perception of the productivity of the younger worker? In this study we present evidence based on data from Dutch employers and employees. Productivity perceptions are affected by one's age and one's position in the hierarchy. The young favor the young, the old favor the old, and employers value the productivity of workers less than employees do. However, there are also remarkable similarities across employers and employees. By distinguishing the various dimensions that underlie the productivity of younger and older workers, we tested whether soft qualities and abilities-e.g., reliability and commitment-are just as important as hard qualities-cognitive and physically based skills-in the eyes of both employers and employees. It appears that both employers and employees, young and old, view hard skills as far more important than soft skills.

This article addresses employers' attitudes and actions regarding the position of older workers. A comparative survey among employers from four European countries -Greece, Spain, The Netherlands and the United Kingdom -is used to examine their expectations with respect to the ageing of the workforce, the productivity of older workers and their recruitment and retention behaviour regarding older workers. The results show that in spite of the perceived challenges ahead (ageing workforce), employers take no substantial measures to retain and recruit older workers or improve their productivity. Only employers in the United Kingdom seem to recognize older workers as a valuable source of labour supply and act accordingly.

Current theoretical models support the existence of interactions between the individual and socio-environmental forces when it comes to the formation and enactment of life plans (Friedman & Scholnick, 1997; Shanahan & Elder, 2002). In this investigation, we examine the social, economic, and psychological forces that impact financial planning for retirement. The collective force of these three broad sets of influences was examined from developmental and cross-cultural perspectives, among respondents from two countries with very different retirement financing systems. Participants were 419 American and 556 Dutch working adults, 25–64 years of age. Path analysis models were created to examine differences in planning associated with age and national origin. Compared to younger individuals, older respondents in both countries were more involved in nearly all aspects of the financial planning process. Differences across cultures were also observed in the social support mechanisms that underlie planning and the impact economic forces have on perceptions of saving adequacy. The discussion focuses on the value of developing interdisciplinary theoretical models of planning, and how such models can inform the development of savings-oriented intervention and public policy initiatives.