Research project Post-retirement work: A path to extending working life that generates new inequalities?

Previous studies suggest that wealthier and healthier retirees are more likely to have paid work in retirement. However, little research has explored the implications of expansion of post-retirement work for inequalities in relation to education, income and health. Similarly, research is lacking on the extent to which inequalities related to post-retirement work vary between countries with different institutional frameworks.

This project will provide state-of-the-art evidence concerning the impact of post-retirement paid work on inequalities in later life in Sweden, the USA and Japan, three countries where retirement tends to occur late in life. These countries have succeeded in attaining high employment rates for older people despite contrasting work and retirement contexts (pension and employment policies, welfare state arrangements). Data analysis is being out using comparable longitudinal ageing surveys of older people from each country.

A comparison of these contrasting national settings will shed light on the mechanisms through which post-retirement work generates inequalities. This information may be used to develop more equitable and effective policies, and in this way encourage labour market participation in old age.