Retention and re-integration of older workers into the labour market : what works?

Although the labour market situation of older workers has significantly improved over time, opportunities to work at older age still vary considerably across EU countries. To trace diverging developments and to assess what works best in retaining employment and bringing older unemployed back to work developments in five countries are analysed: Germany, France, the Netherlands, Norway and Austria. By re-viewing the available evidence we find that the strengthening of financial incentives (or more precise "financial penalties") induced by pension reforms and the phasing out of countryspecific pathways to early retirement have had more effect on extending working lives than anything else. Re-integration after a job loss and the risk of persisting unemployment, however, remain specific problems of the elderly. Government sponsored programs to support the re-integration of unemployed senior workers show rather mixed results.