Factors affecting the willingness of public sector employees to continue working beyond the retirement age in Malta

Abstract

The main aim of this dissertation is to identify the factors which affect the willingness of public sector employees to continue working beyond the retirement age in Malta. In order to collect the necessary data, questionnaires were distributed to current workers aged 50 or over. A logit model was then used to analyse the data collected. The key findings show that the main determining factors are gender, health status, education, monthly salary and job satisfaction. Conversely, marital status, financial status and monthly savings factors are not significant on the willingness of the current public sector employees to continue working post-retirement age. The main conclusions of this study suggest that males are more likely to continue working post-retirement age than females. Similarly, those respondents who assess their health to be good have a higher likelihood to stay in the labour force. Workers with a level of education beyond secondary level are more likely to postpone their retirement age than those workers with lower levels of education. Also, public sector workers who earn a higher salary are slightly more likely to continue working than those who earn a lower salary. With regards to job satisfaction, those public sector employees who are satisfied at the current place of work are more likely to stay employed after reaching the age of retirement than those who are dissatisfied.