5.9 Older Australians staying at work
There are many benefits associated with older workers (aged 55 and over) remaining in
employment. On the worker’s side, being in paid employment enables them to prepare for
retirement, and studies have also shown the overall benefits of work to people’s health (Waddell
& Burton 2006). In the workplace, maintaining workers of different ages promotes diversity of
knowledge and skills. And at a societal level, employment in this age group can improve the
dependency ratio (see Chapter 5 ‘The welfare of our working-age population’), and reduce demand
on publicly funded pensions.