Active Ageing in Employment – Prospects and Policy Approaches in Germany

Expected and preferred retirement age in Germany

“…From 1970 until 2000 the employment rate of male workers aged 55-64 years fell from 80 to 50 % [4]. A culture of early retirement was established and retiring before the statutory retirement age was perceived as the rule rather than the exception, not only by older workers and trade unions but also by employers, policy makers and the public [12,25]. As the consequences of this policy became visible, German policy makers had to acknowledge the financial pressure it caused on the pension system.…”

“…In addition, employers had problems finding qualified workers in certain industries [21]. Policy makers therefore abandoned the idea of early retirement and introduced several reforms aimed at prolonging the working life of older employees, such as stopping early retirement opportunities and increasing the statutory retirement age [1,12,18]. Employers implemented age management measures to delay retirement and sustain the work force in their companies [9].…”

Retirement Expectations in Germany—Towards Rising Social Inequality?

“…These effects were further reinforced by the demographic aging of the German population. In response, policy makers introduced measures to delay retirement timing and prolong working life [7,8]. The first Rentenreform (pension reform) was designed in 1989 and implemented in 1992.…”

“…The welfare state's financial sustainability is under pressure due to a growing number of beneficiaries and less contributors, and in particular, the public pension system is expected to face severe economic problems [2][3][4][5][6]. In reaction, German policy makers have introduced several far-reaching reforms with the aim of increasing the retirement age and, thus, relieve the pension system of financial pressure: They lifted the statutory retirement age from 65 to 67 [7], introduced training programs for older workers [8], and abolished early retirement pathways [9,10]. Consequently, the average retirement age and the employment rate of older workers began to rise [11,12].…”

Late working life, exclusion and inequality: National policies and political-economic context in Germany

“…To extend working life is now officially acknowledged as being the leading objective of pension and retirement policies as well as a being a key starting point for active labour market policies for older workers (see section 5.7), of collective agreements (see section 5.13), and of company initiatives for managing an ageing workforce (see section 5.2). In 2001, the joint declaration from the Federal Alliance for Jobs and Competitiveness ("Gemeinsame Erklärung"; Frerichs & Naegele 2008) summed up the need for a paradigm shift (at least in the first phase, this shift was focused on vocational training) as follows:…”