Author
Forette, Françoise
Brieu, Marie-Anne
Robine, Jean-Marie
Jusot, Florence
Sermet, Catherine
Barnay, Thomas
Brouard, Nicolas
Lièvre, Agnès
Type
Article accepté pour publication ou publié
Abstract (EN)
Objectives : The absence of disease or disability and active involvement in society are considered as essential dimensions of successful ageing. To assess these concepts, we propose a new indicator the Healthy
Working Life Expectancy (HWLE) that associates health status and productive engagement, in order to compare various situations in Europe. Design : The study population is drawn from the European Community Household
Panel (ECHP) which is the unique source of longitudinal data, providing comparable information between 1995 and 2001 on health and work statuses for a sample of some 60,000 household’s representative of the population of : Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain. Based on the multi-state life table approach conventionally used for calculating healthy life
expectancies, the HWLE corresponds to the number of years spent between the ages of 50 and 70 both in good
health and at work. Results : In average, among the 20 years available between age 50 and age 70, the HWLE is
7.5 years for men and 4.8 years for women, ie, one half and one third respectively of the number of years spent
in good health (14.1 and 13.5 years). The countries where the healthy working life expectancy of seniors is the
highest are also the countries where the levels of employment of seniors are higher. Conversely, health status has only a weak influence on the HWLE indicator. Conclusion: These findings suggest the existence of a reservoir of
healthy years which can be used to increase the length of the working life expectancy. They underline also the essential role that employment maintenance and retirement policies should have to increase the number of
healthy years spent at work, and therefore guaranty a successful ageing for the seniors in Europe.