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CHAPTER 2
Do European employers support longer working lives? 27

onwards, the European working-age population is expected to shrink, while
the population over 60 will continue to increase. The strongest pressure is
expected to occur during the period 2015-35 when the baby-boom generation
will enter retirement. Ensuring that the baby-boom cohorts stay longer in the
labour market and remain healthy, active and autonomous as long as possible
is therefore a key challenge.
Both the EU and national governments have set targets for sustainable
participation of workers and the knowledge-based society. Active ageing is
regarded as the central concept the EU developed to deal with an increasingly
ageing society (European Commission, 2001, 2002; Walker, 2002; OECD,
2000). It encompasses an increase in labour force participation of older
workers as well as promotion of productive activities in the life phase of
retirement such as involvement of citizens in and commitment to matters of
society. The key message is an explicit call for a ʻdynamic lifecycle perspectiveʼ.
In 2004, the European Commission assessed progress achieved towards
the Stockholm and Barcelona targets in its communication Increasing the
employment of older workers and delaying the exit from the labour market and
has judged it to be insufficient (European Commission, 2004). Member States
were asked to take drastic action and develop comprehensive active ageing
strategies (European Commission, 2005). The EU committed itself to
supporting this development through policy coordination, exchange of
experiences and best practices, and through financial instruments (European
Commission, 2004; OECD, 2006). The two European reports on demography
that followed (European Commission, 2006; 2008) assessed where Member
States stand in responding to the challenges of demographic change.
Retirement of the baby-boom generation marks a turning point in
demographic development of the EU. Ageing is no longer something that will
happen in the future but is happening now and takes place in overwhelming
numbers. The population aged 60 years and over will increase by two million
people every year. The working-age population will stop growing and will be
shrinking after 2012 by 1 to 1.5 million people each year. Rates of men and
women in employment at the age of 60 are low which means that ageing baby-
boomers are a major potential for Europeʼs labour force.
Ensuring that the baby-boom cohorts stay longer in the labour market and
remain healthy, active and autonomous is a key opportunity for tackling
demographic ageing.
To make this happen we need to improve our understanding of older
workers decisions regarding retirement and impediments to staying in the
labour market. And as employers are regarded as key players in the decision-