Column SCP director: Working longer: a free choice or an obligation?

The Jetten cabinet wants people to work longer. For some, this is a blessing; for others, a curse. We need to make pension options much more flexible, argues SCP director Karen van Oudenhoven.

The cabinet would like people to work longer and for older individuals to provide informal care. At the same time, we are writing off older people in a certain way, dismissing them as puzzle-solving individuals in an ANWB jacket. As writer and psychoanalyst Anna Enquist recently put it so eloquently on Buitenhof: the voice of older people may be overrepresented, but in the wrong way.

It is often presented as if retiring is wonderful, but that does not apply to everyone. For some, even 70 is still too early to retire, while others would prefer to stop sooner. Do we want to regulate the possibility of working longer, or leave the choice up to individuals, tailored to their personal situations?

A good friend of mine updated his LinkedIn profile to read ‘driver’. He now volunteers for the food bank, a completely new activity since he used to work as a Dutch teacher before reaching retirement age. Even after retiring, he is still occasionally asked back to teach. He enjoys being in the classroom, and for the school, it helps alleviate a pressing shortage of teachers. A win-win situation.

Disability Act

One of the first public financial arrangements for old age was the 1913 Disability Act. The reasoning was that anyone aged 70 or older was considered unable to work and therefore no longer needed to work. Gradually, we have come to view the retirement age as the point at which one may finally enjoy well-earned rest and leisure time. After all, not everyone is unable to work at the age of 67.3.

But even the prospect of well-earned rest falls short when tied to a fixed age limit. For people in physically demanding professions, such as construction or the police force, burnout often occurs well before the retirement age, making the prospect of ‘now you can finally enjoy life’ rather bitter. For others, work is so central to their identity and happiness that stopping feels more like punishment than reward. Anna Enquist, for example, still derives great satisfaction from her work as a psychoanalyst and writer, and my friend still enjoys stepping back into the classroom on occasion.

Is it a good idea to abandon the fixed retirement age and allow people to choose when to retire? While logistically complex, it is not impossible. For employers, the impact of longer working lives will vary—some may benefit, while others may face obstacles, such as hindering the career progression of younger employees. This also depends on the state of the labour market.

Decline in fluid intelligence

From a psychological perspective, one might question whether continuing under the old employment contract is a wise path. In his book *The Best Is Yet to Come*, American social scientist Arthur Brooks describes how certain competencies decline with age. He refers to the decrease in fluid intelligence and the associated drop in productivity, particularly in creative professions.

Fluid intelligence involves our ability to logically solve new problems, independent of prior knowledge or experience. Crystallised intelligence—our accumulated knowledge, skills, and experience—declines much more slowly. If your career relies heavily on fluid intelligence, a decline is inevitable over time.

Changing course

Brooks’ argument is that, as we age, we should leverage other qualities such as wisdom, connection, and service. But this requires the courage to change course. Many people struggle to let go of their work because their identity is tied to what they have always done—and that is also why they receive appreciation.

My friend probably derived more status from his professional identity as a Dutch language teacher than from his current role as a driver. Yet he has managed to find value in the meaning his volunteer work brings to society. Working longer in a full-time teaching position would likely have been less fulfilling for him, as adapting to new generations of students and evolving educational demands becomes increasingly difficult. However, being asked to step in occasionally as a mentor to help the school out of a tight spot does bring him satisfaction.

Adding years

In short: it does not seem wise to structurally abandon the retirement age. However, instead of raising the state pension age as outlined in the coalition agreement, it might be useful to give people the option to extend their working lives by 2-3 years. Additionally, employers could invest more in preparing people, as they approach retirement, for a meaningful new phase in their lives. It would be beneficial to facilitate flexible, part-time arrangements through regulations. After all, not everyone wants to be seen puzzling in an ANWB jacket—though there is certainly nothing wrong with that.

About this opinion piece

Karen van Oudenhoven is director of the Netherlands Institute for Social Research (SCP). She is also a professor of societal resilience at VU University Amsterdam.

This column by Karen van Oudenhoven was published on 9 March 2026 on the website of the *Financieel Dagblad*.