Project: Extending working lives of an ageing workforce

Acronym EXTEND
Duration 01/03/2016 - 30/04/2020
Project Topic EXTEND is an interdisciplinary organised research project, based on literature review and empirical research (among others, secondary analyses of macro data sets, case studies, expert interviews, focus groups, economic simulations). It is focusing on looking in social inequalities in chances and constraints to extend working life. Its prime socio-political rationale can be viewed in the current retirement and pension policies in most EU-member states which have a strong focus on raising retirement ages and financially incentivising longer working life. EXTEND is reacting to growing social inequalities which benefit those most able to work longer and disadvantage those unable to work longer. Thus EXTEND takes up a research perspective which so far in retirement research has been underdeveloped. EXTEND focuses not only on the societal macro level but explicitly looks into a sector (the social services sector) where the goal of longer working lives is confronted with particular barriers which disproportionately affect health- and care professionals. EXTEND is ‘solution driven’; the project is looking for innovative solutions on different levels, including pension- and retirement policies, improving the employability of an ageing workforce and measures for healthy ageing in work. The most prominent objective is to reduce social inequalities in retirement structures on different levels, macro, organisational and micro. The life course perspective is an underlying rationale. EXTEND also looks at economic effects of different policy measures.
Website visit project website
Network JPI MYBL
Call First Call “Extended Working Life and its Interaction with Health, Wellbeing and beyond”

Project partner

Number Name Role Country
1 Forschungsgesellschaft für Gerontolgoie e.V. Coordinator Germany
2 Institut Arbeit und Technik Gelsenkirchen Partner Germany
3 Centre for Comparative Welfare Studies Partner Denmark
4 University of Sheffield Partner United Kingdom
5 VU University Medical Centre Amsterdam Partner Netherlands
6 Finnish Institute of Occupational Health Partner Finland