Over the past two decades, employment among people aged 55 to 64 has increased considerable by nearly 20 percentage points in Finland, around 15 in Denmark and around 10 percentage points in Greenland, Åland, Norway and Sweden.
Read this article in Norwegian on Arbeidsliv i Norden
Senior researcher Anna Lundgren at Nordregio says the market increase in employment among older people is a relatively new phenomenon.
“It’s interesting. We think it is linked to increased life expectancy, but also to changes in pension systems.
“We also see a clear trend of more people working until their retirement age and also continue to work after that,” Lundgren said at the launch of the report State of the Nordic Region 2026, in late March.
Both women and men are working longer
One of the central findings in the State of the Nordic Region 2026 report is that the population in the Nordic region is ageing faster than ever.
By 2024, it is expected that all Nordic municipalities will have an ageing population, which puts pressure on welfare systems and public services.
However, it is interesting that this ageing population appears to be responsive to calls for more people to remain in work for longer.
More people aged 65 – 69 in work
The report says all the Nordic countries except Iceland have also seen a marked increase in employment among people aged 65 to 69.
Since 2005, the employment rate for this age group has more than doubled for both men and women.
More men than women aged 65 – 69 keep working
Early retirement combined with work
The statutory retirement age is 67 in Denmark, Iceland and Norway, 66 in Sweden and 65 in Finland.
All five countries offer early retirement schemes, however. In Norway and Iceland, the gap between the effective retirement age and the age at which people actually leave the labour market is more than two years, which indicates many continue to work after drawing a pension.
In Denmark, Finland and Sweden, this gap is closer to six months, which also mirrors a more abrupt transition out of the labour market.
