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Flexibility in work schedule and work location have been suggested as being work features that may promote prolonged employment among older workers. This study focuses on the question whether access to workplace flexibility differs between male and female older workers and how potential differences can be explained. Analyses are based on data collected in 2015 among 4,813 Dutch older workers (age 60-65 years), who were employed in the government, education, care, and welfare sectors. Results show that the studied women on average perceive to have less workplace flexibility than men, both in work schedule and in work location. The gender difference in perceived location flexibility can be fully explained by differences in the human capital and job characteristics of male and female older workers. The gender difference in perceived schedule flexibility can be captured less clearly by these factors. This disadvantaged position of late-career women warrants attention in discussions about prolonged employment.

Abstract
Since the 1980s, policy makers have favored Defined Contribution (DC) pension systems as the alternative to address the unsustainability of Defined Benefit systems. While DC schemes offer benefits and economic advantages, they also present challenges and limitations. We evaluate the mandatory DC pension system for workers in the private formal sector in Mexico, introduced in 1997. We intend to determine for which workers the design of the system is effective and for which workers it is not. The Mexican labor market has high levels of informality and workers constantly flow in and out of the formal sector. Our findings support the view that workers' personal characteristics place them in the structure of the labor market that in turn determines pension benefits. We analyze involvement with the formal sector and the pension system and identify 3 groups of pension participants that reflect the structure of the local labor market: occasional workers, frequent interruptions, and workers with high participation rates. We conclude that frictions in the labor market prevail over the good intentions of the pension design, like reducing informality and encouraging saving for retirement. Our results show that the system properly serves only 36% of affiliated workers. We explain why very few workers report behaviors consistent with high participation, and why most affiliates have insufficient participation to receive pension benefits. We shed light on the relationship between the structure of the labor market and the design of the pension system and their impact on workers' future pension benefits.

AbstractReforms of private pension plans across the world are involving the introduction of more options for pension holders to make choices to suit their preferences. Freedom of choice is not, however, a unidimensional concept despite being commonly perceived as such by policymakers. Using a unique panel survey among Dutch employees, we offer a refined typology of preferences with respect to freedom of choice. For most pension contract issues—level of pension savings, investment choice, and risk coverage—a minority (14–26%) of participants value individual freedom of choice, whereas most would either prefer to let their pension fund make the decisions, or they favor a mixed model whereby they have the option to exercise individual choice but are not obligated to take this option, or they are simply indifferent with respect to how their pension contract is designed and financed. Pension holders who distrust their pension fund or who do not express solidarity with other participants are more likely to prefer freedom of choice than those who feel a high level of solidarity and have a high level of trust in their pension fund.

Der Beitrag basiert auf Daten, die zwischen März und November 2009 in Betrieben mit mindestens zehn Mitarbeitern in acht europäischen Ländern erhoben wurden. Im Mittelpunkt des Beitrags stehen Ansichten und Maßnahmen der europäischen Arbeitgeber in ihrem Verhältnis zu Regierungspolitiken zur Förderung einer höheren Beschäftigungsquote älterer Arbeitnehmer und zur Verlängerung des Erwerbslebens. Beleuchtet werden dabei insbesondere die von den Arbeitgebern angesichts der Überalterung empfundene Dringlichkeit, die erwarteten Folgen einer alternden Arbeitnehmerschaft, das Einstellungs- und Mitarbeiterbindungsverhalten der Arbeitgeber, ihre Vorstellungen zum Rentenalter älterer Arbeitnehmer und ihre Bewertung der Regierungspolitiken, die die Beteiligung älterer Erwerbstätiger erhöhen sollen. (ICE2)