Employers are most concerned about the limited employability of employees with health problems. Approximately 40 percent of the older employees share these concerns. They worry about being able to continue working until they reach retirement. Many older workers would prefer to retire at a much younger age than what is allowed under the current policy. The gap between the average desired age of retirement (63.4) and the expected age of retirement (65.7) is considerable: 2.3 years. In the construction industry, that gap is even higher (2.8 years). Independent contractors show a greater eagerness than employees under contract to continue working until a ripe old age. While their more limited pension savings presumably have something to do with this, work characteristics such as greater flexibility appear to also play a substantial role.
Sustainable employability policy
The concerns that employers have about working longer seems to translate into action. Unlike 10 years ago, the majority of employers actively invest in HR methods for sustainable employability. In particular retraining and additional training for older employees is regularly used, but also informal measures such as information and awareness.