Insights into Labor Force Participation among Older Adults: Evidence from the Longitudinal Ageing Study in India

Using data collected in 2017–18 for the baseline wave of the Longitudinal Ageing Study in India, this paper analyzes labor force participation among older adults (people aged 60 years and older) and their job characteristics, income, and associated social security benefits. Analysis of a cohort of 31,464 older adults shows that although labor force participation declines with age, 36% of older adults in India are working; of these, two-thirds are employed primarily in agriculture and allied services, only 5% have a full-time job, and just 6% are covered by a work-related pension scheme. Older adults who have less education, live alone, do not have a chronic disease, and lack health insurance or pension coverage are more likely to work beyond age 60. The dominant predictor of labor force participation is health status, especially in rural India. Older adults are almost equally likely to work across wealth categories in urban India, rejecting the hypothesis that only the poor work beyond age 60 in India. Vulnerable (i.e., rural, living alone, divorced/separated) females work more than their male counterparts. Older adults continue to work depending on their physical capacity, which is highly age-dependent, across economic categories. Our results provide evidence for the pursuit of an older adult policy in India that focuses on healthy ageing particularly in the context of poor social security coverage and the unorganized nature of work, as healthy populations continue to engage in economic activity.