Working at older ages: why it’s important, how it affects health, and the policy options to support health capacity for work (2019)

WHO Press Release

This policy brief critically examines the economic arguments for later retirement and longer working careers in response to population ageing.

It supports the view that dominant policy approaches such as increasing the statutory retirement age are often overshadowed by a lack of attention to two critical questions: firstly, are older workers in sufficiently good health to work longer? And secondly, does increasing the statutory retirement age have consequences, negative or positive, for the health of older workers?

The brief argues that a more comprehensive approach is necessary to ensure longer working careers. It argues that health systems are instrumental to achieving this goal, particularly by embracing policies that support older people’s health through the workplace, and incentivising employers to create supportive environments for older people.