Aktives Altern – Erwerbstätigkeit und bürgerschaftliches Engagement im Rentenalter

Demographic change has brought with it an increase in health and the hope that after reaching retirement the time can be used actively in the sense of civic engagement or further employment. At present, only about 5% of the German population continues to work after retirement. Two groups in employment can be identified: on the one hand highly qualified individuals who are largely working because of the intrinsic motivation and on the other hand a significant number of people working because of financial necessity and often in ‘mini jobs’. In addition to employment, active old age can be a time of civic engagement. In the past ten years the number of those involved in these activities has increased across all age groups. Civic engagement is not, however, without conditions, as there are demands for participation in voluntary work: in the form of individual resources in the areas of financial, human and social capital. Correspondingly, older people who are involved in civic initiatives tend to be well educated and in good health. It cannot be confirmed that the increased amount of free time after retirement is generally seen as an additional motivation to become involved more intensively in voluntary work or to take up such an activity. Overall it appears that there is untapped potential in old age, from both the individual and the broader social perspective