"Retirement at 67": prerequisites for the ability of older female jobholders to continue working

The new Retirement Age Adjustment Act, enacted by the Federal Government in spring 2007 to raise the statutory retirement age to 67 years in Germany, poses a challenge for the jobholders concerned as well as for the companies. Especially older female jobholders are exposed to particular risks regarding their ability to continue working due to the cumulative concurrence of age-specific but also additional gender-specific employment patterns and risks. Their employment situation is influenced by age discrimination in terms of recruitment and human resource management. Furthermore, women were and are confronted with specific obstacles in the course of their working lives, such as, the problem of reconciling work and family life and care giving, lesser opportunities for development and advancement due to sectoral and work organizational circumstances and lower incomes. There has been an increase in part-time arrangements, marginal employment, and temporary jobs, which are all predominantly filled by women. If women do not manage to stay in gainful employment, they do not only individually face an insufficient old-age income but the national economy is also in danger of losing valuable human resources and social security contributions.