Early and phased retirement in European companies

Abstract

"The European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions has been committed to obtaining more in-depth information on the use of working time arrangements in European companies, the reasons for using such arrangements and the outcomes for both companies and workers. In 2004, the Foundation launched its first Establishment Survey on Working Time in 21 European countries: the 15 'old' Member States of the European Union and six of the new Member States - the Czech Republic, Cyprus, Hungary, Latvia, Poland and Slovenia. The survey was a questionnaire-based, representative sample survey in more than 21,000 establishments, which aimed to analyse working time arrangements and work-life balance issues at the workplace by interviewing personnel managers and, where available, formal employee representatives. In particular, it focused on flexible working hours, overtime, part-time work, work at unusual hours, such as shift or night work and weekend work, childcare leave or other forms of long term leave, and phased or early retirement. This report analyses the data from the survey to address the issue of phased or early retirement, exploring the institutional frameworks of these schemes as well as the influencing factors specific to the establishment. Apart from the issue of whether such schemes are available in the companies examined, the analysis also provides information on the proportion of employees eligible for early or phased retirement and the reasons for making use of such schemes. The deployment of both schemes is examined from a management and employee representative perspective. In doing so, the report underlines that a wide range of factors - including company size, sector, experience of parttime work, the employment situation in the establishment and the employee's individual situation - determine the extent to which phased or early retirement schemes are used. Although both early retirement and phased retirement are used as measures to encourage flexible working life arrangements, in turn improving work-life balance, the survey results suggest that phased retirement is more frequently used for this purpose. Early retirement, on the other hand, seems to be more frequently used for other reasons, such as reducing the number of personnel or as part of structural changes." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Cite article

Leber, U. & Wagner, A. (2007): Early and phased retirement in European companies. Establishment survey on working time 2004-2005. Dublin, 41 p.