Should I retire already?

De vergrijzing in Nederland neemt sterk toe. Op 1 januari 2020 telt Nederland 19,5% mensen van 65 jaar en ouder (Bron: CBS). Bij De Arbodienst zien wij regelmatig dat medewerkers die tegen hun pensioenleeftijd aanzitten, uitvallen in verzuim. Vanuit deze situatie ontstaan er vaak vragen voor onze professionals. In deze blog vertel ik, Siham Aen Messaoudi – Adviseur Arbeid en Gezondheid en Teamleider bij De Arbodienst,  meer over de mogelijkheden die er zijn voor de medewerker en werkgever, om toe te werken naar een mooie afsluiting van het werkende leven.

As with proper absenteeism management , it is incredibly important to explore together what options best suit the employee and employer. This sounds like a cliché, but you will be surprised how often employers often zealously reach for a "solution. Therefore, it is important to always remember that the employee is the focus.

The art of the "good" conversation is therefore the beginning of this process. In general, it can often feel like a duty on the part of the employer to guide the employee to retirement as well as possible, but the employer may better see this as good employment practice. The employee may have envisioned himself working until retirement, however, over the years, working in his own job was becoming less and less successful. There may have been small signs of this through short-term absenteeism or taking several days off.

As an employer, it is important to reflect on the fact that the employee has probably already thought frequently about their own personal choices and options. It can be difficult for an employee to talk about this. The 'good conversation' should therefore provide an opening for them to jointly look at their personal possibilities; customization.

For example, it may already be possible with very small adjustments in the work to fulfill the wishes of the employee, in order to still be able to keep going until retirement. The employee may also be able to perform very different tasks in the organization that are better suited to their capabilities. Think, for example, of transferring knowledge, being a practical trainer or improving the quality of service. Of course, a combination is also possible, of partly one's own work and partly other work, also consider the work rhythm. For one employee it works better to do his own work half days and the other work half days. For another employee, a different work rhythm will work better. Keep evaluating this together and adjust if necessary, by mutual agreement.

It is also possible to retire early. The conversation is then started with a pension provider about the personal financial situation of the employee and the official retirement due date. The difference will generally not be too great. Bridgeable for some and indispensable for others.

The conversation may also bring up the option of part-time retirement. The employee receives part of the pension and continues to work part of the time. This reduces the workload and supplements the income from the pension. Generally, this is possible as early as age 60. It is even possible to reduce in steps. For example, the employee can first choose to work 4 days a week and then reduce this to 3 days.

• What is the employee's starting point, full-partial employment until retirement or earlier exit, by when?
• What options or modifications has the employee already gone through?
• What options have not yet been discussed? (think work rhythm, modified work within the organization, days off, collective bargaining arrangements, part-time retirement, early retirement)
• Is there an absenteeism report? If so what is the benefit of this? Upon reaching the WIA gate, employee may already be retired. With the adjustments in own work, would there be a benefit to sick call?

Uiteraard zijn er nog veel meer opties die onderdeel van het gesprek kunnen zijn. Dit is vaak maatwerk en afhankelijk van de organisatie. Wilt u hier eens over sparren, neem dan contact op met uw Adviseur Arbeid en Gezondheid. Nog geen klant van De Arbodienst? Neem dan contact met ons op en vraag een offerte aan.