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The year 2012 is designated as the European Year for Active Ageing and Solidarity between Generations. The aim of the year is to raise awareness of the position of older people in a manner where they can enjoy a better quality of life and still play an active role in society. There are good reasons for designating 2012 as such a year.The OECD has estimated that by the year 2050, more than 33% of men and 38% of women in the EU25 will be 60 years or older compared with 18% and 24%, respectively, for the year 2000. The European Statistical Office projects that by 2060, there will be only two people of working age (15–64) in the EU for every person aged over 65, compared with a ratio of 4 to 1 today. Keeping in mind that an increasing share of the youth between 15 and 30 are studying, the consequences of these figures are even more challenging.Many politicians are seriously concerned about financing of the pensions and welfare systems. Another concern is how to allocate sufficient healthcare personnel to give the ageing population a decent service. These challenges are good reasons for the EU to include "solidarity between generations" as an element in the activity of this year.This special issue on active ageing is a contribution from the Nordic Journal of Working Life Studies to the year of active ageing. The articles examine work and ageing from different angles and horizons of understanding. Together, the articles question some of the myths that exist on ageing and work and assess some of the actions being taken to keep older workers in employment. This issue is therefore an important contribution to the development of our understanding of active ageing and measures used to develop an active ageing policy (.)

A challenge posed by the demographic transition is the funding of the welfare state, which, in the Nordic countries, is relatively generous, and will have to serve growing proportions of older citizens in need of home-help services and nursing homes. Both active workers and pensioners pay income tax. However, by keeping older workers in working life for longer, the tax revenue increases while pension expenses for the government decreases. This is a means to meet that challenge and boost the sustainability of the welfare state. ; publishedVersion

As a part of an international extending working life trend, Norway recently raised the mandatory retirement age (MRA) from 70 to 72 years. This article discusses possible effects on managers' attitudes and behaviour towards older workers. This is of particular interest because employers' federations and central unions opposed the reform as they feared considerable negative consequences both for older workers and for employers. Data are collected by mixed methods. The Norwegian Senior Policy Barometer for the years 2013 through 2018 interviewed managers in 600 private sector companies each year. In addition, qualitative interviews were performed with managers and HR directors in 19 companies with employees 67 years and older. The results indicate that the fear of negative effects was exaggerated. We find no clear changes in the years around the implementation of the new MRA in the rather positive conceptions of older workers, in the more modest desire to recruit older workers, or in the reluctance to call applicants above 58 years of age in for interview. The government launched the reform to, in the long run, encourage higher employment in older age groups and to eliminate age discrimination in working life. To confirm or refute such changes requires further studies in the years to come. ; publishedVersion