Increasingly, older workers in Germany are opting to continue working past the traditional retirement age.
In Germany, there's a trend of older folks sticking around in the job market for longer periods. The number of workers, under social security, aged between 55 and retirement age, has ballooned from roughly 2.6 million in December 2000, to nearly 8 million in December 2023, as per reports from the Labor Agency in Nuremberg. This is the highest figure in about two decades. In December 2013, it was 4.8 million, and in December 2003, it was approximately 2.6 million. This indicates an increase in the employment rate of older workers by about 14 percentage points to 59% over the last decade. In contrast, the overall employment rate for the entire workforce has only gone up by 7 percentage points to 63% during the same period. However, the employment rate dips to 20% for individuals aged 65 to 69, according to estimates from the Institute for Employment Research. When compared to other OECD countries, Germany ranks second among EU nations in terms of employment rate for those aged 55 to 64. On the other hand, it falls in the lower third and significantly underperforms the OECD average, when it comes to employment rates exceeding 65.
In this context, older workers who continue to work beyond retirement age are often staying in their jobs within the German workforce, as shown by the significant increase in the number of workers under social security aged between 55 and retirement age. Moreover, Germany ranks second among EU nations in terms of the employment rate for individuals aged 55 to 64, indicating a high prevalence of older workers in the workforce.
