Published date: November 14, 2024

Freelancing can provide an alternative career transition pensionTrinity Business School’s research finds that this is true only for those in healthy, high-paying careers.

But people in unstable, low-paying careers are choosing to retire, according to research published in the Cambridge Journal of Economics.

The study examined whether self-employment helps close the workforce gap. pension Drawing on interviews with 123,000 people aged 50 and over in 21 European countries, including Ireland, France, the United Kingdom and Sweden (Health, Aging and Aging Survey) Pension (SHARE) project in Europe).

The research comes as pressure continues to mount on policymakers to address the challenges of longer-living populations and inadequate levels of elderly employment. Self-employment is touted as a viable option to encourage people to continue working into old age.

Key findings:

• People over 50 who moved from paid work to self-employment were in good health and had good job prospects.
• Meanwhile, over-50s in unstable, low-earning careers were significantly less likely to move into self-employment.
• The transition to self-employment was associated only with positive conditions.

The study, by Associate Professor Martha O’Hagan from Trinity Business School and Senior Research Fellow Dr André van Stel, was carried out in collaboration with Dr Brigitte Hoogendoorn and Sanaz Ramezani from Erasmus University Rotterdam.

Prof O’Hagan explained: “Our research reveals that many of those moving from paid work to self-employment may choose to remain employed or move to other paid work. In other words, those who transition into self-employment are likely to achieve a high level. pension and age in paid employment.

“As life expectancy continues to rise across the EU, pension systems face increasing pressure, leading to an increased focus on extending active employment into older ages. In this context, self-employment among older workers has attracted attention as a potential solution to extend their working lives and provide opportunities for those who face age-related discrimination.

“Our findings also show that self-employment can act as a bridge pensionFor precarious wage workers, this pathway is much less accessible than for those in higher-paid, more secure positions. As a result, any government support aimed at encouraging high-level entrepreneurship may not reach the individuals it is designed to help.

“The research shows that while people in precarious careers are actively seeking to improve their employment situation, they will only consider switching to another paid job, not self-employment, as a realistic option to achieve this goal.

“One possible reason for the reluctance of older wage workers working in precarious working conditions to voluntarily switch to self-employment is that they do not want to give up unemployment benefits if their business fails. In many countries the self-employed are not allowed to take part in collective unemployment insurance systems, and private unemployment insurance is often too expensive.”

• The article, Does self-employment provide a bridge? pension?, published and available in the Cambridge Journal of Economics Here.
• This study focuses on Health, Aging and Pension In Europe (SHARE) project, which interviewed 123,000 individuals over the age of 50 and their spouses in 21 European countries in 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013 and 2015, collecting data on health, employment, socio-economic status, social networks and other demographic factors. . See more here: