Aging, Workforce Development, and Training for Older Workers in Germany

Abstract

Over the past several decades, significant changes in sociodemographic and labor market conditions have affected older workers in Germany. As is the case elsewhere, life expectancy in Germany is rising and is being accompanied by an increase in disability-free and healthy years. At the same time, German policies toward older workers have changed. Until the mid-1990s, Germany featured a wide variety of early retirement policies and practices. However by 2010, it seemed that Germany had reversed this trend. Three phases of policy shifts can be identified (cf. Deller & Pundt, 2014 ; Hofäcker & Neumann, 2015 ): Starting in the 1970s, early retirement was mostly used as a method of restructuring and reorganizing institutions. While retiring early was seen as a social benefit for a long working life by many workers and their representatives, it was also intended to create jobs for young entrants to the labor market. This followed the idea that young individuals do not find jobs because older job incumbents do not retire.