Who reduces work hours before retirement? A longitudinal study on plans and behaviours in the Netherlands

Abstract Policies aimed at extending working lives pose challenges for older workers with high job demands, caregiving duties, and health problems. To address these challenges, policymakers have proposed facilitating work hour reductions in the years before retirement. However, it is unclear whether older employees in demanding situations are relatively more likely to (plan to) reduce their work hours before reaching the state pension age, and whether work hour reduction arrangements in their company enable them to do so. Using the NIDI Pension Panel, this study examines preretirement work hour reduction plans and behaviours of 1704 Dutch employees aged 60–63 at baseline. Ordinal and binary multilevel logistic regression models were used to test the hypotheses. One in four employees in our sample plans to reduce work hours before reaching the state pension age, and one third eventually reduces them. When a work hour reduction arrangement is available, older employees are more likely to reduce their work hours. Older workers who experience high job pressure are more likely to reduce their work hours, particularly when a work hour reduction arrangement is available. Chronic health conditions and caregiving burden were not associated with planned or actual working hour reductions. Overall, the availability of work hour reduction arrangements is key in enabling work hour reductions, facilitating them for some—but not all—employees in demanding situations. We discuss how such arrangements contribute to sustainable ageing, considering the tensions between financial and social sustainability.