Health trends and changes in socio-economic and work factors to determine the feasibility of extending working lives beyond age 65

The percentage of 65-74-year-olds with paid work is increasing, but remains low. It is known that this minority is more highly educated and healthier than their non-working age peers. It is an open question to what extent their health and socio-economic characteristics have changed. In particular, if working and non-working age peers have become more alike in these respects. In this case, also lower educated and less healthy people would work beyond age 65 more often.
Using data from the nationally representative Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam during 1993-2012, the educational difference between working and non-working 65-74-year-olds remained, however, constant. Also the health difference between workers and non-workers remained constant. The proportion of people with a mortgaged home did rise faster in workers than in non-workers. Workers remained more often supporters of a flexible pension age than did non-workers.
In workers beyond age 65, the number of hours worked was low (on average, 17 hours/week). Moreover, this number decreased over the years in men and in those with middle or higher education, but not in lower educated workers.
According to this study’s findings, differences in education and health remain important factors in possibilities or desires to work beyond age 65. In addition, economic factors play a role, as is demonstrated by the finding that home owners with a mortgage continue working relatively often. Insight into these factors is important for designing policies to extend working lives.