Factors Affecting Prolonged Working Life for the Older Workforce: the Swedish Case

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to uncover some of the mechanisms that could make the older workforce willing and able to stay employed. Our focus is on work-related factors that predict the probability of staying in employment despite entitlement to old-age pension. The analyses are based on data from the first and second waves of the Panel Survey of Ageing and the Elderly (PSAE). The focus is on employed persons aged 52–59 years in 2002/2003 and the probability that they were still employed in 2010/2011.The analysis focuses on the work situation for the respondents in 2002–2003. Our analysis shows that physical job demands (negatively) and job satisfaction (positively) have an effect on the probability of staying. However, a counteracting force seems to be a norm to quit related to aging, emphasized by the institutionalized pension system, and the values and preferences connected to life as a pensioner.