Study title

Attitude of older employees in North Rhine-Westphalia to advancing the flexible age limit to the 60th year of age for men or the 58th year of age for women. The current job situation and ideas about life in retirement. Topics: commuting time to work; participation in retraining and measures for further education; change of job within the company and reasons for this change; expected influence of age on the last change of job; financial losses from this; judgement on job security and one´s own occupational future; work satisfaction; characterization of job demands; relationship with colleagues; assessment of personal condition of health; contacts with doctors; frequency of illness and disabilities; ideas about retirement; assumed pleasant and unpleasant aspects of retirement; experiences of friends or relatives with the time in retirement; assessment of the financial situation after retirement; assessment of the desired retirement age of colleagues; frequency of use of the flexible age limit in the company and assumed reasons for this; personal interest in utilization of the flexible age limit; planned further employment after reaching the age limit; attitude to earlier retirement with corresponding reduction in pension or increase in retirement insurance contributions; evaluation of various recommendations on improvement in the situation of older employees; preferred reduction in working hours; assumed attitude of company management to advanced retirement; lay-off actions and redundancy payments scheme in the company; monthly financial burdens. Demography: age; sex; age of spouse; marital status; religious denomination; school education; occupational training; occupational position; occupation of spouse; income; composition of household; housing situation; degree of urbanization; city size; length of employment. Interviewer rating: length of interview and difficulties with interview. Additionally encoded was: district code.