May 2012

IZA DP No. 6537: Paid Work after Retirement: Recent Trends in Denmark

published as 'To work, to retire – or both? Labor market activity after 60' in: IZA Journal of European Studies, 2013, 2:21

The labor market in Denmark seems to follow the trend in a number of other countries of increasing labor force participation in the 60+ group. We analyze trends for the early retirement age interval 60-64 and for the age group 65-74 where people are eligible to a national social security program from age 65. Until now, the increase in labor force participation has been most pronounced among 60-64-year-olds and among women. We find significant impact on work after retirement from education, gender, home ownership, aggregate unemployment at the time of retirement, age and education. Being married has a positive impact for men and a negative impact for women. We relate labor force participation after retirement to the cyclical situation and to the several policy reforms introduced since 1980.