Norway: Labor Participation Rates Increasing for 62- ad 63-Year-Olds after Pension Reform

A report issued by Statistics Norway finds that 62- and 63-year-olds work longer than before, although pension reform allows them to retire at age 62. "Yrkesaktivitet blant eldre før og etter pensjonsreformen" ("Labour force participation among older persons after the Norwegian pension reform") looked at two indicators: One indicator is the change in share of the population who are employees. The second indicator is the share of the employees in a given year who are still employees one year after. This second indicator shows the share of the employees who keeps on working, which was one of the main goals of the pension reform. With respect to the first indicator, the report found:

For several years, even before pension reform was implemented in 2011, the share of the population who are employees has had a certain growth for all one-year age groups from 60 year and above. But the change from 2011 to 2012 shows that all one-year age groups from age 62 and above have had a stronger growth in the participation rate, than persons aged 60 and 61. The growth has been particularly strong for those aged 62 and 63, and this applies for both women and men. Further, the growth has been particularly strong for those with secondary education as their highest level of education.

With respect to the second indicator, the report found:

the share of the employees in one year who are still employees one year after, we present figures for those who go from being 61 to 62 years of age. The results show that there was a stronger growth in the share of the employees who are still employees one year after, from 2011 to 2012 than in the previous three years. The growth was clearly stronger for persons with primary school and secondary school than for people with a higher level of education. Still, the persons with higher education have a higher level number of employees who kept on working.

Source: Statistics Norway Publication Summary (English) (April 4, 2013); SeniorPolitikk.no "Seniorene jobber lenger enn før" (April 8, 2013)