“De gylne årene mellom 60 og 67 år” – en analyse av videre deltagelse i yrkeslivet for militært tilsatte pensjonert i tidsrommet 2005–2015

The general age limit for retirement in Norway is 70 years. However, lower age limits can be drawn for certain occupations; among those are military personnel where the current mandatory retirement age is 60 years. This age limit has not been changed since the early seventies. The demographic changes in Norway are an ageing population, increased labor demand, better health and increased life expectancy. This development will pose expectations that the total national workforce must work longer, including military personnel. It is expected that there will be several changes in the future with regard to the current pension system and the early retirement age limits. For that reason the Norwegian Ministry of Defence initiated an enquiry of the mandatory retirement age in the Norwegian Armed Forces. The Norwegian Defence Research Establishment (FFI) has provided analytical support. In autumn 2016 we conducted a survey of a representative sample of officers who retired during the period 2005–2015. The aim was to map how many of the officers that continued working in other jobs after retiring from the Norwegian Armed Forces. The survey was conducted as a telephone interview with closed-ended questions followed by response options. The findings show that two out of three of the officers in the age range 57 to 67 continue working in other jobs after their retirement from the Norwegian Armed Forces. We find no correlation between age and the likelihood for continuing working. However, the average number of working hours per week declines with increasing age. The majority of respondents state that health would not have been an obstacle for staying longer in the position they were holding towards the end of their career. Eight out of ten of the officers would have continued working in the Norwegian Armed Forces if there had been an opportunity when they retired.