Mature Aged Workers In Australia: An Empirical Study Into The Process Of Participation And Retirement

This study examines the participation and retirement decisions of mature aged workers (defined as 50+ years) in Australia. Despite increasing interest in understanding the factors involved in the decision of mature aged workers to participate or withdraw from the labour market, a number of key questions remain unanswered. The goals of this study revolve around three research issues. These are the identification of: methods to increase participation of mature aged workers in the labour market; barriers to participation and the costs and benefits (both financial and non financial) of engaging mature age workers from both an employer and employee perspective. An interdisciplinary approach was taken in this research with the complex issues surrounding the participation of mature age workers in the labour market examined using economic and psychological theory. Questionnaire based data was collected via a mail out to 3,000 members of the National Seniors. The findings indicate that factors influencing the withdrawal / participation decision exist at three levels. First structural economic and public policy factors impact on the welfare of individuals in the later stages of their working life. Second, organisational attitudes and policies impinge on the recruitment and retention of mature workers and third, individual factors such as motivation, perceived stereotypes and economic status influence the decision to withdraw from work at a personal level. Based on the results of these surveys recommendations are made to improve the maintenance of labourforce engagement of mature age workers in Australia.