COVID-19 and retirement decisions of older workers in the euro area

Vasco Botelho and Marco Weißler

Economic Bulletin Boxes, 2022, vol. 6

Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic triggered a temporary decrease in the labour market activity of older workers in the euro area. Our analysis finds that a part of the decrease was driven by a pandemic-induced shift in the retirement decisions of older workers, affecting around 175,000 people. This represents 0.5% of the labour force aged 55-74 retiring earlier than planned due to the pandemic. The heightened economic uncertainty and health risks stemming from the pandemic persuaded some older workers either to bide their time before returning to work or to retire early. Early retirement was most pronounced for workers in poorer health, stressing the growing importance of health risks for labour market developments. JEL Classification: E24, J14, J26

Keywords: COVID-19; Labour force; older workers; retirement (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022-09
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