The Impact of Social Security Systems on the Employment Rate of the Elderly in Traditional Welfare States

The employment rates of the elderly differ considerably between EU countries. This paper compares the impact of institutional structures in the area of unemployment insurance, disability and old-age insurance on the employment rate of 55 to 64 years old workers in four European welfare states: Germany, Austria, Sweden and the Netherlands. The institutional design of the social security systems has a strong impact on the employment rates of the elderly. This leads to a distortion of the commonly used labour market indicators and makes comparisons difficult.