Labour force participation among older persons after the Norwegian pension reform

A key goal of the Norwegian pension reform of 2011 was for older employees to remain in the workforce. One element of the reform was the opportunity to combine work and pension from the age of 62, without a reduction in pension. The share of employees that combine work and pension shows strong growth after 2011.

For several years, the shares of the population in employment have had a certain growth for all ages from 60 and over. However, the development after2011 shows stronger growth for those aged 62-65 than for the 60-61 year-olds. The aim of the new pension reform was for older employees to remain in the workforce. The development since the introduction of the reform in 2011 indicates that this goal has been achieved, for both women and men. The growth has been particularly strong for employed persons in the private sector with only a compulsory education.

Average contracted working hours per employee aged 62-66 increased marginally between 2010 and 2014. Employees aged 67-70 had a clear increase in average contracted working hours in the same period.