Changes in healthy and unhealthy working-life expectancy over the period 2002–17: a population-based study in people aged 51–65 years in 14 OECD countries

Abstract

BackgroundIn response to population ageing, most countries within the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) are planning increases to their pension age. To ensure the effectiveness of such measures, scholars have advocated for continued monitoring of healthy working-life expectancy. However, estimates are limited to a few countries during limited periods of time. Our study aims to estimate healthy and unhealthy working-life expectancy in 14 OECD countries at three points in time between 2002 and 2017.Methods In this population-based study, we used cross-sectional data from nationally representative surveys on ageing that were representative of the population aged 51-65 years in England, the USA, and 11 European countries plus Israel. European countries, except for England, and Israel were divided into two groups according to their score on the Active Ageing Index (AAI). We estimated healthy and unhealthy working-life expectancy, defined as the number of years spent working in good or in poor health. Poor health was defined as the presence of at least one chronic disease. Sullivan's method was used to estimate expectancies.

Changes in healthy and unhealthy working life expectancies among older working-age people in Finland, 2000–2017

“…At first, these results seem somewhat contradictory to a study comparing healthy and unhealthy working life expectancies in various OECD countries at three points in time between 2002 and 2017. 23 In that study, changes in healthy working life expectancy were inconsistent whereas unhealthy working life expectancy increased in all countries. Poor health was measured by the presence of at least one chronic disease, which is fairly close to our measure of limiting long-standing illness.…”

Healthy working life expectancy at age 50 for people with and without osteoarthritis in local and national English populations

“…Across Europe, available estimates suggest HWLE is highest (and similar to England) in countries facing fewer challenges to “active ageing” in employment, living, environmental, and societal participation contexts (e.g. Finland, Denmark, Germany, Sweden, Czech Republic, Israel, and Switzerland) 17 , 19 , 20 . However, due to methodological differences, numerical international comparisons cannot be easily made between recently published HWLE estimates for groups of European countries and earlier estimates published with the introduction of the indicator 17 , 19 .…”

“…Finland, Denmark, Germany, Sweden, Czech Republic, Israel, and Switzerland) 17 , 19 , 20 . However, due to methodological differences, numerical international comparisons cannot be easily made between recently published HWLE estimates for groups of European countries and earlier estimates published with the introduction of the indicator 17 , 19 . The Sullivan method (in which health expectancies are calculated from simple formulae using lifetables) is useful for comparing different time points as it is not subject to attrition, but the approach relies on production of life tables and is therefore restricted in the subgroups it can compare.…”

Estimating trends in working life expectancy based on health insurance data from Germany – Challenges and advantages

“…with regard to specific diseases that are often associated with severe limitations or early retirement. This would be essential knowledge for assessing the possibilities and limits of a further extension of working lives ( Boissonneault & Rios, 2021 ) what could not be investigated with other data sources.…”