Keeping on Working Means Keeping on Learning

People work longer and retire later. In addition, they have started to focus much more on the age at which they receive state pension. This and more is apparent from research by the Research Centre for Education and the Labour Market (ROA) of Maastricht University. The ROA has been commissioned by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment to investigate the facts and trends associated with the increase in the state pension age. The results of the survey have been presented to the members of the Dutch House of Representatives (Tweede Kamer) and are used by the minister to evaluate the policy process in this regard.

Since 2013, the state pension age has gradually increased from 65 to 67 in 2014. Research by ROA shows that people continue to work longer and that the state pension age increasingly determines the age at which people retire. It therefore seems that the state pension age has started to function as the social norm for retirement behaviour, despite the fact that people often have the choice to also retire at other ages, according to researcher Raymond Montizaan of the ROA. The peak in retirement age has now shifted from 65 to 66 years. The average age at which self-employed people retire is rising faster than that of employees. The research also shows that people stay longer on unemployment and disability benefits. The probability of outflow to these schemes has increased for 65-year-olds as a result of the increase in the state pension age, but the inflow from unemployment benefits to work is also increasing.