In Kazakhstan, the number of working pensioners has increased by 45.1% over the past two years, reports Kazpravda.kz citing Ranking.kz
According to the National Statistics Bureau, as of the end of September 2024, there were 298.5 thousand Kazakhstani citizens over working age employed in the economy — 92.7 thousand more than in the same period of 2022.
The largest share of these workers — 39.9%, or 119 thousand people — were employed in agriculture. One-fifth of working pensioners were engaged in trade, while 16.2% worked in education and healthcare.
Statistics indicate that the number of working elderly Kazakhstani citizens has risen across all sectors of the economy over the past two years. The difference lies in the dynamics. For instance, in construction, public administration, and the financial sector, the number of working pensioners has tripled, while in transportation and logistics, trade, and social sectors, it has doubled.
The most populous age group among working elderly citizens consists of those who have just retired and have not yet reached 65 years of age. The smallest group is individuals over 85 years old.
“Just think about it: more than 700 Kazakhstani citizens of such advanced age continued to work in 2023. Just three years prior, there were none of such individuals in Kazakhstan. To verify the hypothesis that the majority of Kazakhstani pensioners working do so to pass on their experience to the younger generation, let’s examine their occupations,” – suggested analysts.
Reports from the National Statistics Bureau show that more than half (59.1%) of all workers aged 65 and older as of September last year were unskilled laborers. There were 69.3 thousand of them in the country. Most of this group was involved in unskilled labor in farms — including livestock handlers, shepherds, milkers, etc. Additionally, 7.6 thousand pensioners worked as cleaners or performed other service jobs. Over two years, the number of such workers increased 22 times — from 339 to 7.6 thousand people. The number of street vendors over 65 rose 13 times — from 395 to 5.2 thousand people. The count of unskilled garbage collectors increased by 79.1%, reaching 3.7 thousand individuals.
“Over the past two years, the number of specialists aged 65 and older in the healthcare and education sectors has sharply decreased. Those who could still serve as mentors for the younger generation and continue their intellectual work have become much fewer. However, there has been a significant increase in elderly professional specialists who have moved into business and administration. There are now over 8 thousand working pensioners in the labor market,” – analysts reflect, adding that officials themselves also seem inclined to continue working after their 65th birthday.
Two years ago, the country had only 58 working senior executives, legislators, and civil servants. By the end of September 2024, their number had risen to 423.
With the increase in life expectancy in Kazakhstan, the index of active longevity (IAL) has also risen. If in 2020 the potential for active longevity in the country was realized at 29.6%, by 2023 it had increased to 32.1%. Employment rates among the elderly and assessments of the indicator for “Independent, healthy, and safe living” have improved.
At the same time, it should be noted that compared to European countries, Kazakhstan still lags behind in terms of active longevity. For example, in Switzerland, the IAL in 2023 was 45.8%, in the Netherlands — 42.9%, and in Germany — 40.7%. Kazakhstan's lag is evident across all major indicators.
“According to the results of household sample surveys, the Bureau's statistics concluded that 77.1% of respondents aged 60 and above in 2023 considered themselves part of the middle class. This is a few percentage points higher than in 2019. Another 17% of respondents in this age group noted that their financial situation was above average, while 3.2% identified themselves as relatively wealthy individuals. Only 0.1% of those surveyed considered themselves poor,” – concluded the experts.