scholarly journals Social inequality in working life expectancy in Sweden

2018 ◽  
Vol 52 (S1) ◽  
pp. 52-61 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roland Kadefors ◽  
Kerstin Nilsson ◽  
Per-Olof Östergren ◽  
Lars Rylander ◽  
Maria Albin
2021 ◽  
pp. 140349482199366
Author(s):  
Rahman Shiri ◽  
Aapo Hiilamo ◽  
Tea Lallukka

Objective: This narrative review summarizes the available indicators for working life expectancy and years of working life lost (YWLL) and their determinants. Methods: We searched PubMed and Embase databases from their inception until August 2020 and screened all studies proposing an indicator for working life expectancy or YWLL. We also reviewed studies focusing on sociodemographic, lifestyle and work-related determinants of working life expectancy and YWLL. The results were synthesized narratively. Results: We identified 13 different indicators for the length of working life or YWLL. The most frequently used indicators were ‘working life expectancy’, ‘healthy working life expectancy’, and YWLL. Working life expectancy and healthy working life expectancy are longer for men than women. Working life expectancy at the age of 50 has been increasing since the mid-90s, and the increase has been larger for women, reducing the sex difference. Working life is shorter for people with a low level of education, in lower occupational classes, for people exposed to high physical work demands, those living in the most socioeconomically deprived areas, people with overweight or obesity, smokers, people who are inactive during leisure time and in people with a chronic health problem. Conclusions: Despite increasing interest in understanding the determinants of YWLL, only a few studies have simultaneously considered multiple exit routes from the labour market. We propose a new measure for total YWLL considering all relevant exit routes from employment. This comprehensive measure can be used to assess the effect of given policy changes on prolonging working life.


2017 ◽  
Vol 27 (suppl_3) ◽  
Author(s):  
LE Kroll ◽  
J Baumert ◽  
M Busch ◽  
C Scheidt-Nave ◽  
T Lampert ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Iliya Gutin ◽  
Robert A. Hummer

Despite decades of progress, the future of life expectancy in the United States is uncertain due to widening socioeconomic disparities in mortality, continued disparities in mortality across racial/ethnic groups, and an increase in extrinsic causes of death. These trends prompt us to scrutinize life expectancy in a high-income but enormously unequal society like the United States, where social factors determine who is most able to maximize their biological lifespan. After reviewing evidence for biodemographic perspectives on life expectancy, the uneven diffusion of health-enhancing innovations throughout the population, and the changing nature of threats to population health, we argue that sociology is optimally positioned to lead discourse on the future of life expectancy. Given recent trends, sociologists should emphasize the importance of the social determinants of life expectancy, redirecting research focus away from extending extreme longevity and toward research on social inequality with the goal of improving population health for all. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Sociology, Volume 47 is July 2021. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.


2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (Supplement_4) ◽  
Author(s):  
H Brønnum-Hansen ◽  
E Foverskov ◽  
I Andersen

Abstract Background The state old-age pension in Denmark is adjusted in line with the projected increasing life expectancy without taking social inequality in health and life expectancy into account. The purpose of the study was to estimate income disparities in life expectancy and disability-free life expectancy (DFLE) at age 50. Methods By linking nationwide register data on income and mortality each individual at any age was divided into equivalised disposable income quartiles and life tables were constructed for each quartile. Data from the Danish Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) was linked to register data providing access to information on respondents equivalised disposable income. Finally, data from the life tables were combined with prevalence on activity limitations by income quartiles from SHARE to estimate DFLE by Sullivan’s method. Differences in DFLE were investigated and decomposed into contributions from mortality and disability effects. Results A clear social gradient was seen for life expectancy as well as DFLE. Thus, life expectancy at age 50 differed between the highest and lowest income quartile by 8.0 years for men and 5.0 years for women. The difference in DFLE was 11.8 and 10.3 years for men and women, respectively. For men the mortality effect from the decomposition contributed by 4.1 years to the difference of 11.8 years in DFLE and 3.9 years to the difference in expected years with disability of 3.8 years while the disability effect contributed by 7.7 years. Conclusions The study quantifies social inequality in health in Denmark. Although income inequality in life expectancy and DFLE can partly be explained by loss of income due to chronic diseases, one would expect a welfare state to provide better financial security for citizens with health problems. Furthermore, the marked social disparity when approaching retirement age is questioning the fairness of implementing a pension scheme independently of socioeconomic position. Key messages Disability-free life expectancy differs between income quartiles by more than 10 years. Pension age follows the projected increasing life expectancy independently of socioeconomic position. This seems unfair.


2016 ◽  
Vol 45 (4) ◽  
pp. 459-462 ◽  
Author(s):  
Henrik Brønnum-Hansen ◽  
Mette Lindholm Eriksen ◽  
Karen Andersen-Ranberg ◽  
Bernard Jeune

Aims: The state old-age pension in Denmark increases to keep pace with the projected increase in average life expectancy (LE) without any regard to the social gap in LE and expected lifetime in good health. The purpose of this study was to compare changes in LE and disability-free life expectancy (DFLE) between groups of Danes with high, medium and low levels of education. Methods: Nationwide register data on education and mortality were combined with data from the Surveys of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) surveys in 2006–2007, 2010–2011 and 2013–2014 and the DFLE by educational level was estimated by Sullivan’s method for each of these three time points. Results: Between 2006–2007 and 2013–2014, LE among 65-year-old men and women with a low educational level increased by 1.3 and 1.0 years, respectively, and by 1.4 and 1.3 years for highly educated men and women. The gap in LE between people with high and low levels of education remained more than 2 years. In 2006–2007, 65-year-old men with a high level of education could expect 3.2 more years without disability than men of the same age with a low level of education. In 2013–2014, the difference was 2.9 years. For women, the results were 3.7 and 3.4 years, respectively. Conclusions: With the persistent social inequality in LE of more than 2 years and the continuous gap between high and low educational groups in DFLE of about 3 years, a differential pension age is recommended.


2014 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 165-188 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daishin Yasui

This paper develops an overlapping-generations model in which agents make educational and fertility decisions under life-cycle considerations and retirement from work is distinguished from death. Gains in adult longevity induce agents to decrease fertility, invest in education, and achieve higher income in order to save more for retirement. Even if working life is shortened by early retirement, this mechanism works as long as adult longevity increases sufficiently. Our model can explain the positive effect of life expectancy on education without contradicting the fact that working life length has not substantially increased, because of retirement. We also provide new insights into the interaction between fertility and retirement decisions.


2020 ◽  
Vol 77 (8) ◽  
pp. 576-582 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacob Pedersen ◽  
Bastian Bygvraa Schultz ◽  
Ida E H Madsen ◽  
Svetlana Solovieva ◽  
Lars L Andersen

ObjectiveIn most European countries, political reforms gradually increase the statutory retirement age to counter the economic costs of a growing elderly population. However, working to a high age may be difficult for people with hard physical labour. We aim to study the impact of high physical work demands on working life expectancy (WLE).MethodsWe combined physical work demands assessed by job exposure matrix (JEM) and longitudinal high-quality national registers (outcome) in 1.6 million Danish workers to estimate WLE and years of sickness absence, unemployment and disability pension. The JEM value for physical work demand is a summarised score of eight ergonomic exposures for 317 occupations groups, sex and age. The WLE was estimated using a multistate proportional hazards model in a 4-year follow-up period.ResultsIndividuals with high physical work demands had a significantly lower WLE, than those with low physical work demands, with largest differences seen among women. At age 30 years, women with high physical work demands can expect 3.1 years less working, 11 months more of sickness absence and 16 months more of unemployment than low-exposed women. For 30-year-old men, the corresponding results were 2.0 years, 12 months and 8 months, respectively.ConclusionOur findings show that high physical work demands are a marked risk factor for a shortened working life and increased years of sickness absence and unemployment. The results are important when selecting high-risk occupations, and expand the knowledge base for informed political decision making concerning statutory retirement age.


2010 ◽  
Vol 37 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 175 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frank T. Denton ◽  
Christine H. Feaver ◽  
Byron G. Spencer

We construct cohort working life tables for Canadian men and women aged 50 and older and, for comparison, corresponding period tables. The tables are derived using annual single-age time series of participation rates for 1976-2006 from the master files of the Statistics Canada Labour Force Survey. The cohort calculations are based on stochastic projections of mortality coupled with alternative assumptions about future participation rates. Separate tables are provided for the years 1976, 1991, and 2006, thus spanning a period of substantial gains in life expectancy and strong upward trends in female participation. Life expectancies based on the cohort tables are greater than those based on the period tables, for both men and women, and that is reflected in increased retirement expectancies. For example, a male aged 50 in 1976 could have expected to live three years longer and to have almost four more years in retirement, based on the male cohort table under medium assumptions, as compared with the corresponding period table.


2007 ◽  
Vol 17 (6) ◽  
pp. 585-586 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Bronnum-Hansen ◽  
M. Baadsgaard

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