Letter to the editor. Break age discrimination – DN.se

We often talk about skills lack, the need for more people to work longer and how we create sustainable pensions. But too rarely do we ask the question: Do people actually have the opportunity to work as long as they want?

That’s exactly what we wanted to investigate when we recently produced the report at the pension company SPP « Age discrimination price tag ». We saw signs that many elderly people are disappearing from working life long before they really want to – and we wanted to understand why. What we found confirmed what we suspected: it is rarely about choices, and more often about structures and discrimination on grounds of age.

Statistics from Statistics Sweden As we reviewed shows that:

● In the future, 7,400 long -term unemployed in the future will be involuntarily forced into retirement before the target age 67 years, which is introduced in 2026.

● They lose an average of SEK 6,000-7,000 in retirement every month – life.

● They need SEK 1.2–1.9 million extra in savings capital to compensate for reduced income from an involuntary, previous retirement.

● For society, this means a GDP loss of SEK 11 billion per year and reduced payments of taxes and pension contributions.

Behind each digit There is a person – and after I was on television and presented the report I have been able to take part in many stories. After sharing some of our insights, I have received a huge response: from people who have felt awake, from those who are struggling to be called for interview and from employers who try to change, but also wrestle with outdated norms.

These are strong stories – and they make it clear that ageism in the labor market is both an individual and a social problem. It is not just about discrimination – it is also about wasting valuable skills, in a situation where, on the contrary, we need more who can and want and can work.

We need to change the way we look at age. Experience is not something we carry with us – this is something we contribute.

To take us there required much more than good intentions:

● We must broaden our view of competence.

● Recruit based on potential and experience – not the year of birth.

● Create the conditions for more people to work as far as they want. It is only when we build a labor market that is sustainable – not only financially, but also human.

When I was new In the professional life, it was the elderly who taught me. It reminded me early on the value of experience.

I want to spread the stories I got to know – as a voice for everyone who shared their experiences and as a link between people’s reality, the responsibility of the business community and the possibilities of politics.

We have a society that is drawn apart – between generations, perspectives and resources. Therefore, we need to talk more about respect, openness and collaboration across age limits.

It’s not just shopping About those who are young or older today, but about what society we want tomorrow. Just as solutions are required for those occupational groups that cannot work at retirement age, we need to look after those who want and can work longer.

More about submitter: How do you write on submitter and answer

More submissions: dn.se/insandare