Evaluation of “job plan”

In 2008 the Job Plan scheme was introduced. The purpose of the scheme was to secure more labour in Denmark, for example by retaining older people in the labour market. This report is about the Job Plan initiatives that were introduced to increase the supply of labour among older people above the age of 65 and among disability pensioners.
Among other things, Job Plan was to make it more attractive for people older than 65 to work. This was done by giving pensioners with a state retirement pension an extra basic allowance of DKK 30,000 per year and by less strict employment requirements for people who receive a higher pension. Moreover, disability pensioners were free to work as many hours as they wished without this affecting their pension.
The report concludes that only very few persons older than 65 find that the Job Plan rules significantly affect whether they choose to work and how much they work. Job Plan seems to have had a greater impact on disability pensioners. It is also clear that very few people actually know about the rules. Despite this, the study shows that many people still choose to work, even though they are not aware of the rules.
The study has been commissioned and funded by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Integration.