FRANCE The

uittreding: early retirement) schemes in which the benefit rate,
usually 80% of the last earned income, does not depend on the
retirement age. The second main pathway is through flexible
pension schemes that usually offer 70% of the last earned income,
but in which case the benefit depends on the actual retirement age
(workers save money until the moment of retiring). As already
indicated in the article, the Dutch Government promotes the
transformation of VUT schemes into flexible pension schemes
because these schemes offer more security.
• 26% of the CLAs only contain a VUT-scheme, 64% contain a
flexible pension scheme, whether or not in combination with a
VUT scheme and 10% does not include either of these schemes.
The trade sector has the highest percentage of CLAs with merely
a VUT scheme and the lowest percentage of flexible pension
schemes (either combined with a VUT scheme or not). Both in
2001 and 1998 VUT schemes applied to 83% of the workers.
• 44% of the CLAs offer the possibility of part-time retirement.
These arrangements apply to 45% of the workers, compared to
15% in 1998.
• Within 44% of the CLAs the retirement age is fixed at 65 years.
Within the Government sector the numbers are higher (62%)
than in other sectors
• 21% of the CLAs contain clauses that allow the worker to
continue working beyond the age of 65. These clauses apply to
32% of the workers, compared to 20% in 1998.
• 11% of the CLAs (i.e. 14 CLAs) deviate from the standard
retirement age of 65, notably in the military services and the
police in demanding jobs (in this case the age for retirement is
lower, 55 or 60 years; this is called “functional age-related
retirement”). 11% of the workers are covered by stipulations that
contain a “deviating” retirement age; this was 16% in the 1998
overview.
Portugal
1. Introduction
The Lisbon European Council defined an ambitious strategic goal
to be achieved by 2010: to make the European Union “the most
competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world,
capable of sustainable economic growth with more and better jobs and
greater social cohesion.” 1 Taking into account the phenomenon of
an ageing population, which is affecting almost all European Union
countries, the participation in the labour market of older workers is
essential in order to achieve this objective.
Portugal has one of the highest employment rates of older workers 2
in the European Union, having already reached the target rate of
50% defined in the Stockholm Council for 2010. Nonetheless, the
demographic evolution in the last decade shows a progressively
ageing population, which points to new challenges. Indeed, the
Spring 2003 | European Employment Observatory Review 133
Trends
• Workers beyond the age of 65 are not covered by a CLA. 7% of
the CLAs include stipulations on a different contract for these
workers. Changes in the contract can pertain to the period of
notification required in the termination of employment or to the
expiration of the obligation to pay certain premiums, for
example.
4. Evaluation and conclusion
Many policies and measures to enhance older workers’ labour
market participation have only been implemented recently and
many more are still in the stage of proposals and discussions (e.g.
the law against age discrimination). Yet the statistics available,
including those on stipulations in collective labour agreements,
clearly indicate an increasing trend both in labour market
participation rates for older workers and in the attention and efforts
devoted to the issue of older workers. Notwithstanding this, the
growth of participation rates may also bear, to a significant degree,
an autonomous character, which reminds us of the way women’s
labour market participation has developed over the past years. All in
all, a certain optimism seems to be legitimate in the Netherlands
with respect to meeting the Stockholm targets but the possible
effects of a further economic downturn should and cannot be
ignored. Moreover, a balance will have to be struck in the years to
come between, on the one hand, further activating policies for older
workers and, on the other hand, the protection of the rights,
entitlements and health of older persons. Life-course-oriented
policies that take into account both the potentials and limits of
older workers seem a very promising avenue.
Ton Wilthagen
ageing of the population has an impact not only on the labour
market, but also on the financial sustainability of the pension
system, and therefore on one of the main pillars of the so-called
European social model. As a result, the question of the activation of
older workers has gradually become an important issue of political
debate in Portugal. Recent governments have taken some important
measures, in order to provide incentives to retain older workers in
the labour market.
2. The demographic framework
The trend of the last decade (1991-2001) shows an acceleration in the
growth of the Portuguese population, which has been especially
significant in recent years. Despite the demographic transition
1 Source: Lisbon European Council (2000) – Presidency Conclusions, European Commission
2 In this text, the concept of older workers that will be considered in respect to the individuals with ages between 55 and 64 years old. However, currently, the traditional
model of lifecycle, divided into three distinct phases: education, work and reform, do not correspond entirely to the reality. By the way, it was in this context that the
World Health Organisation created the concept of active ageing in 1997. In its spirit is implicit that the older individuals must remain, as long as they can, integrated
into the labour and social life of the communities in which they live. On the other hand, there is an age group that is frequently not considered nor in the group of the
young workers, nor in the one of the oldest: those between 45 and 55 years old. These individuals are sometimes in a hybrid situation, in the sense that, being
considered still very young for retirement, they are also already too much old to be considered “normal” workers. However, these workers will be the future workers of
55 and 64 years old and so, when the statistical data allow, they will also be focused in this article.