Klaudia Bachinger knows what distinguishes many German pensioners. "Refreshingly open, with a positive basic attitude": This is how the 33-year-old Austrian woman perceives her customers. Bachinger earns her money by giving retirees to companies through an online platform. She has already brought retirees together with start-ups. Or with companies that are desperately looking for employees because of the shortage of skilled workers.
With her company, Bachinger, which recently expanded from Austria to Germany, benefits from a trend. The slogan of their online platform is: "Not older, but wiser". For some time now, not every retiree has really had his rest. More than one in ten employees continues to work after retirement.
The data collected annually from the Microcensus shows this impressively: more than one million people over the age of 65 were in gainful employment in Germany in 2017, and the trend is upward. Ten years earlier, 594,000 of the over-65s were working - just half.
But why is the proportion of those who continue to toil even after their life's work done? Is it due to the overall rising proportion of over-65s in the population? Postponing the retirement age for employees? Or are there other reasons?
Heribert Engstler is researching this at the German Center for Gerontology. The sociologist was involved in the German Aging Survey - and he believes that today's ancients are different than they were ten years ago. "There is a change in the mission statement, away from a passive, well-deserved retirement to an active pensioner," says Engstler. The rate of volunteers has been rising among pensioners for years.
imago / Westend61
No complete social withdrawal
Retirement, it no longer means complete social withdrawal. Instead, the pensioners want to maintain existing contacts - and close new ones. Nearly 60 percent of the surveyed retirees stated in the German Survey on Age of 2017 that the contact with people is a crucial motivation for them to work also at retirement age.
For the study, scientists interviewed persons over 40 for the second half of life. The researchers wanted to know how they live, how much money they have, what their life goals are and whether they are still working. The results showed that work is a way to escape loneliness.
However, the reason most people used to say when they were asked about their job is different: two-thirds of respondents said they just feel like working. "It is a privilege to be able to work in old age," says Engstler. Anyone who is healthy and well-qualified is needed. And who is needed, must not feel old.
Only a few work out of financial hardship
This could also explain why the proportion of higher educated workers among working pensioners is particularly high. Those who have a university degree are almost twice as likely to be in employment as older people when they are older than those with a lower level of education.
On average, pensioners worked 16 hours a week, just over half have a working week of less than ten hours. "There is still enough time to rest," says Engstler.
The current situation in the labor market has something to do with the fact that the proportion of working pensioners is increasing: The demand for skilled workers is high, companies are desperately looking for qualified employees.
Like Carina Dworak, responsible for business development at the fitness chain Mrs. Sporty. For her company, it is difficult to find staff, says the 49-year-old. The job as a trainer in sports courses places particularly high demands - and they could often fulfill pensioners better than young university graduates, Dworak is sure. In recent weeks, therefore, she has been increasingly talking to older applicants. Your company specifically targets retirees.
Older employees have a lot of experience in dealing with people and face more relaxed challenges, says Dworak. Reliability also plays a major role. "Our older employees often bring a greater commitment." In addition, the retirees just feel like the job, and they are less concerned about the money.
This impression can also be confirmed by sociologist Engstler. Just over one third of respondents in the age survey stated that they were working alongside their pension because of the financial situation. But they also included those who just wanted to spend a better holiday. Few worked at the age of financial need. The majority just find the activity interesting.
The number of working retirees, so Engstler, will probably continue to rise in the next few years.
