Contemporary policy and practice of supporting the employment of the elderly people (the German experience and its possible applications in Russia)

The paper is examining the process and outcomes of contemporary policy and practice of supporting the employment of the elderly people in Germany. The first part of the article deals with the factors, under the pressure of which the government was forced to implement deep institutional and structural reforms in many areas of life, in order to balance economic and social situation and to meet the criteria of the Lisbon strategy of the European Union. In the second part the most important modern reforms (in late 1990s) in the pension system, the labor market, in the field of social and labor relations and work organization are considered in detail. These reforms led to a rapid increase in employment of persons aged 50-65 years, and made Germany a model to be emulated by other European countries. The German reforms are viewed in the context of the public and academic discourse on the role of elder people in the modern world and on the problem of old age and active aging, which is the basis for the development of new political projects for the elderly people as well as for creating a consensus in the period of radical reforms - work first. In the third part there is a survey of the outcomes of the policies and practices aimed to support the employment of the elderly by 2015, and an analysis of the problems that emerged recently. A particular emphasis is placed on the increase in the number of unhealthy workers, on the growing problem of poverty in old age, on the stagnant mobility in the labor market, on the deregulation of the system of flexible retirement. In conclusion, along with a summary of the overall results of the study, the author discusses the prospects of using the experience of Germany in Russia, as well as the possible effects of rising the retirement age and increasing the duration of employment in our country.