Can you work beyond retirement age

The themes emerging from the categorization of the motives and preconditions corresponded to the domains of health, work characteristics, skills and knowledge, and social and financial factors from the STREAM research framework. However, our analysis revealed one additional theme—purpose in life. This study offers important new insights into the various preconditions and motives that influence working beyond retirement age.

Peer Review reports. In the Netherlands and many other Western countries, the population is ageing rapidly due to lower fertility rates, longer life expectancies and maturing baby boomers [ 1 ]. To reduce the effects of an ageing society on social security systems, the Dutch government has been implementing reforms to encourage older workers to prolong their working lives. This is reflected in the increase of the statutory retirement age for people who have lived or worked in the Netherlands from 15 to 65 years and are eligible to receive an old-age government pension.

The statutory retirement age was raised from 65 years in to 67 years in [ 3 ]. Thus, the average Dutch retirement age increased from 61 years in to Prolonged work participation is already visible in older workers who decide to continue their engagement in work activities beyond the statutory retirement age. In the United States, employees aged 65 years and older often participate in paid employment after retirement [ 5 , 6 ].

In this age group, the labour force participation rate increased from In the Netherlands, for example, the net labour participation rate for the 65—75 age group has doubled from 5. In recent years, an increasing amount of literature has been published on factors associated with working beyond the statutory retirement age [ 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 ].

De Wind et al. Examples of work-related factors associated with bridge employment are the extent to which people enjoy their work i. Moreover, it was shown that social factors, such as having a working spouse and children to support, were positively associated with the desire to engage in bridge employment [ 12 ].

To date, only a few studies have used a qualitative research design to explore the reasons that older workers extend their working life while receiving a pension. For example, Reynolds et al. Furthermore, several theoretical perspectives provide the opportunity to gain a better understanding of the decision to prolong work participation.

From the aforementioned studies and theoretical perspective, it can be concluded that the decision to prolong work participation is not driven by a single factor, but rather should be considered as multifactorial.

However, to date there is no available theoretical model or framework that includes an overview of all factors that explain why older workers prolong their work participation beyond retirement age. Recently, based on the literature, the Study on Transitions in Employment, Ability and Motivation STREAM research framework proposed to capture the complexity of determinants that influence work productivity and employment transitions [ 15 ].

According to this framework, transitions in employment status are influenced by determinants in five domains: health, job characteristics, skills and knowledge, social factors and financial factors. Since a theoretical model or framework for working beyond retirement age is lacking, it is important to explore if and how the domains of the STREAM research framework can be applied to this phenomenon.

A qualitative research design was used including individual semi-structured telephone interviews and focus groups among older employees and self-employed persons aged 65 years or above between February and June The interviews collected a first inventory of themes explaining reasons why older workers work beyond retirement age. The focus groups were conducted to validate the themes that emerged from the individual interviews and to obtain more in depth information about how the themes related to working beyond retirement.

The consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative research COREQ were taken into account by the research team [ 16 ]. A team of academic researchers conducted the study; RS, AW, and WvdB have participated in qualitative research training and were experienced in conducting qualitative studies. Participants from STREAM aged 65 years or above, who had participated in the fifth wave of data collection in , reported having a post-retirement paid job or to be self-employed, and had given permission to be contacted for additional research were eligible for participation.

To ensure heterogeneity, participants were purposefully selected based on educational level, gender, and health status. This is also known as maximum variation sampling [ 17 ].

We selected participants by educational level, since differences in reasons for working beyond retirement might exist due to specific work exposures e. In addition, multiple reasons might apply for working beyond retirement for both men and women and those with poor or good health.

Between January and February , participants were contacted by telephone; the purpose of this study was explained and their consent was documented. The sampling ended when no new information arose during the interviews thus implying that data saturation had been achieved [ 18 ]. For the focus group participants three recruitment locations were used to identify persons aged 65 years or above: employment agencies, a university and hospital.

Since the purpose was to validate the results of the individual interviews, we conducted focus groups with another population. Participants were purposefully selected based on the same criteria as for the interviews, that is gender, educational level, and health status.

Between March and May , the participants were approached either by phone or invitation letter detailing the purpose of the study. Participants of the focus groups were offered transport expenses and a gift card for 15 euro. Sampling for the focus groups stopped when data saturation was reached. In the first part of the study, 15 semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted by a female and a male researcher, RS and LvdZ.

A semi-structured interview guide on the following topics was created: 1 reasons for working beyond the retirement age, 2 considerations about leaving work, 3 the timing at which people decide to remain active or retire, 4 persons who played a role in their decision, and 5 planning for the future e.

The interviews lasted between 30 and 60 min. The telephone interviews were not audio recorded. After three interviews, the interview guide topics and detailed notes were evaluated by RS and LvdZ. Data analysis was an ongoing, iterative process, including the continuous comparison of new data with previous data to establish emerging themes. Individual interviews were analysed for themes in three steps [ 19 ]. First, the notes from three individual interviews were manually open coded.

Researcher triangulation was used for coding: two researchers, RS and LvdZ, independently coded the interview notes [ 20 ]. The aim of this step was to understand why persons who were interviewed were working beyond the retirement age. Next, the codes and coding trees were extensively discussed by RS and LvdZ, and consensus was reached. In the second step, the remaining 12 interviews were open coded by RS and LvdZ and codes were compared by the same.

In addition, data saturation was monitored. No new information arose in the last interviews. In the third step, the codes of all interviews were organized into themes by RS. The categorization of codes was extensively discussed among all authors in group meetings until consensus was achieved. In the second part of the study, three focus groups a total of 18 participants were conducted. Focus groups can be used to explicate, explain or verify data [ 21 ]. The focus groups were led by the first author, RS.

In the first focus group, a second female moderator, WvdB, was present. The key questions during the focus groups were: 1 what are the reasons for working beyond the retirement age, 2 what do you need to prolong your work participation, and 3 what would be reasons for you to stop working. All focus groups were held in a meeting room and lasted approximately two hours. During all focus groups, notes were taken by the assistant moderator and after written consent the focus groups were recorded on a digital voice recorder.

A summary of each focus group was created and sent to all participants for verification. All participants agreed with the summaries. The analyses of the focus group data were conducted in five phases. In the first phase, the focus group audio tapes were transcribed verbatim. Second, all transcripts from the first and second focus groups were read line by line, and independently open coded manually by RS and AW. Next, the codes were extensively discussed by RS and AW, and consensus was reached.

Otherwise, you can age yourself out of consideration if you insist on talking about work you did 30 years ago. Ageism is sadly very real. If you are not sure how to get started, find a career coach experienced with mature and late-career professionals. Whichever route you take, consult with your accountant or tax professional to understand the impact of any new income. We will be offering assistance with annuities, life insurance, Medicare and financial planning. Sign up for updates and be the first to know when these services are available.

Sign up for our newsletter for our latest retirement planning guides, tips and more! Your web browser is no longer supported by Microsoft. Update your browser for more security, speed and compatibility. If you need help pricing and building your medicare plan, call us at Medicare View Subpages. Coverage Simulator. Medicare Open Enrollment Information. Supplement Plans Medigap. Medicare vs. Customer Service. Medicare FAQ. Life Insurance View Subpages. Types of Life Insurance.

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If setting a mandatory retirement age, the employer must be able to show that it is objectively justified. The Code of Practice on Longer Working Order pdf outlines the best practices to follow during the engagement between employers and employees in the run up to retirement, including responding to requests to work beyond the retirement age.

The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission have guidelines on retirement and fixed term contracts. The guidelines aim to ensure that older workers, who want to continue working, are not discriminated against in the workplace. They also provide guidance on using fixed-term contracts beyond the compulsory retirement age. If you have a question about this topic you can contact the Citizens Information Phone Service on 07 Monday to Friday, 9am to 8pm. You can also contact your local Citizens Information Centre or Request a call back from an information officer.

Introduction If you are self-employed, there is no set retirement age. Retirement age for public sector workers If you are a public sector worker, your retirement age depends on when you joined the public service.

If you joined the public service before April If you were recruited before 1 April , and you did not reach your compulsory retirement age of 65 before 26 December , you now have a new compulsory retirement age of Schemes vary so ask your fund or employer about how your pension is affected if you change your work arrangements or continue working beyond State Pension age.

You may need to show your employer proof of your age so they stop NI deductions from your pay. You may need to pay income tax depending on your total income. Your total income includes your salary plus your private pension and State Pension. Some people delay their State Pension claim until they finish working to avoid paying more tax.

Calculate how much pension you might get in retirement using the Age UK Pension calculator. Start now.