Work ability of the aged under conditions of improving mortality.

Abstract

age has been linked to age at which people are no longer sufficiently healthy to function in their jobs. This linkage was accepted by both proponents and opponents of raising retirement age in March 1981 report of National Commission on Social Security. majority position was: The Commission anticipates that increased longevity will be accompanied by a corresponding increase in active life. . . . Expert opinion in field of research on aging holds that period of 'diminished vigor' associated with aging will decrease so that 'chronic disease will occupy a smaller proportion of typical life span' (National Commission on Social Security 1981, 126). On other hand, a minority of commission contended that the evidence does not support any claims that longer life is equivalent to longer years of good health.... evidence certainly does not support speculation that incidence of good health is increasing (National Commission on Social Security 1981, 331). Unfortunately, current state of knowledge does not permit a definitive resolution of this controversy. I shall attempt, however, to clarify some of issues. We shall focus on populations in age groups between 50