Employment of older workers: France is still lagging behind for those over 60

France has largely caught up in terms of employment for older workers aged 55 to 59, particularly due to successive reforms that have raised the retirement age. However, the situation remains much less favorable after age 60, as highlighted by the High Commission for Strategy and Planning in its report entitled " Employment of Older Workers: How to Promote Employment Until Retirement?"

In 2024, the employment rate reached 77,8% for 55-59 year olds, a level slightly higher than the European Union average of 77%. However, it fell to 42,4% for 60-64 year olds, while more than half of seniors in this age group were still working on average in the European Union.

At age 61, more than one in four people are neither employed nor retired.

According to the authors of the report, the improvement in the employment rate is not enough to mask the difficulties encountered during the last years of professional life.

"If the employment rate of seniors increases, we still have the question of transitions between employment and retirement," noted Emmanuelle Prouet, one of the authors of the report, during a presentation to the press.

"At 61, more than one in four people are neither employed nor retired, have already left, or are not in the labor market and cannot yet claim their pension," she explained.

Career paths vary greatly depending on the occupation and skill level. Among "workers and low-skilled jobs, nearly 40% of people will leave the labor market early before reaching retirement," added Emmanuelle Prouet.

These early retirements can be linked to health conditions, occupational burnout, working conditions, or difficulties returning to work. They risk leaving some seniors without employment and without a pension for several months or even years.

Adapting working conditions before the end of one's career

While the effective retirement age is expected to continue rising, the report deems it necessary to intervene well before the final years of employment. The goal is to preserve employees' employability, prevent career breaks, and make work sustainable for longer.

Retirement will "probably come later and later" and "we need to ask ourselves a number of questions about working conditions, about the links between professional and retirement activities," stressed Clément Beaune, High Commissioner for Strategy and Planning.

The report therefore calls on businesses, professional sectors, social partners, and public authorities to better prepare for the second half of careers. Job adaptation, voluntary reduction of working hours, professional mobility, and prevention of burnout are among the levers put forward.

Access to training decreases with age

Vocational training is another weak point for France. "When we look at the French situation, we see a double deficit, in investment but also in access to training," lamented Eva Tranier, also an author of the report.

Between 2022 and 2024, only a third of French employees aged 55 to 64 had undertaken at least one training course during the previous year. This proportion exceeds half in Sweden and Denmark.

The High Commission therefore recommends strengthening lifelong professional training, without waiting until retirement. This support should, in particular, enable employees to update their skills, prepare for a career change, or move towards jobs less exposed to occupational burnout.

Better organize the transition between work and retirement

The report also recommends raising awareness, evaluating and stabilizing mechanisms that allow for a gradual exit from working life, such as phased retirement and combining employment and retirement.

Available under certain conditions from age 60, phased retirement allows individuals to continue working part-time or on a reduced schedule while receiving a portion of their pension. Combined employment and retirement, on the other hand, allows individuals to resume or continue working after claiming their pension benefits.

Clément Beaune considers it important "to evaluate them, to stabilize them", given that these systems are still not well known and their rules have changed several times.

The reform applicable to pensions claimed from January 1, 2027, will make combining work and retirement much less attractive before the age of 67. The High Commissioner believes that "the relevance of this restriction can be questioned," while also considering that it would be "even worse to change again before even considering the effects of this reform."

Beyond a new modification of the rules, the High Commission is thus advocating a more comprehensive policy on aging at work, reconciling longer careers, maintaining skills and improving employment conditions.