Social differentiation in later life: Exploring the interaction between wealth, education and retirement trajectories in Japan and the UK,

The process of retirement is becoming more complex and differentiated in terms of timing and resources. In many advanced economies, active ageing policies encourage older workers to remain in the labour market longer. The reasons and opportunities to do so, however, depend on both institutional systems (e.g. retirement age, social security, attitudes of employers) and individual capital (e.g. skills, pensions, savings). By bringing housing wealth more fully into the equation, this project will go beyond conventional indicators of income, qualification and formal retirement age to analyse retirement inequalities.

The project brings together scholars with different disciplinary backgrounds to examine the relationship between housing wealth, the level of education, and extended working life of ageing baby-boomers in contrasting welfare systems of the UK and Japan. A series of workshops are planned in the UK and Japan to provide a platform for the project members, academic and non-academic stakeholders to exchange ideas, analyse comparative data, and identify methodological challenges. The project will contribute to reframing policy debates surrounding extended working life, and ageing and inequalities more generally.

Co-Investigators include:
Professor Shinichiro Iwata (Co-I), University of Toyama, Japan
Dr Amalia Di Girolamo, University of Birmingham, UK
Professor Matthew Flynn, Hull University Business School, UK
Professor Junya Hamaaki, Hosei University, Japan
Professor Atsuhiro Yamada, Keio University, Japan