Is It Possible to Extend the Working Life of Brazilians? Inequalities in the Implementation of Work Lengthening Policies and the Existence of "Job Lock" at Ages Close to Retirement, a Life Course Approach

Alexandre Ribeiro, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG)

Population aging in Brazil is putting pressure on the social security balance. Disregarding inequalities in life expectancy advances and work capacity by educational level of people approaching retirement age, the Pension Reform enacted in 2019 increased the minimum retirement age for women and men’s minimum contribution time, basendo only on mean life expectancy. Even though health is one of the main variables that affect permanence in the labor market, decisions to retire are also affected by financial resources potentially available and some people may reach retirement age without enough savings to maintain their living standards. Economic and health factors affecting transition from work to retirement are not a snapshot of the person's current moment of life, but results from a cumulative process of adversities faced throughout personal and work life course. Adversities may be linked to individuals’ intrinsic characteristics such as their own gender and may be combined to produce intersections of multiple vulnerabilities. This paper investigates gender and educational inequalities and the possible existence of job lock in brazilians retirement transition using a life course approach. We expect that women, less educated people and the one’s with the highest burden on family and household chores will have worst results.

Keywords: Human Capital, Education, and Work, Population Ageing, Population Policies, Inequality, Disadvantage and Discrimination

See paper.