As More Than Half of German Employees Over 50 Plan Early Retirement, a Two-Speed Labor Market Emerges for Health Programs
24.06.2026 - 04:15:25 | boerse-global.de
The latest DAK-Gesundheitsreport 2026 paints a stark picture: 52 percent of all employees aged 50 and older intend to retire before reaching standard retirement age. Among those reporting poor health, the figure jumps to 60 percent. Across all age groups, 44 percent of respondents say they would prefer an early exit from the workforce.
The study, conducted by the IGES Institute on the basis of around 7,000 survey participants, also documents a clear link between age and sick leave. Staff at age 50 record a sickness rate of 5.8 percent; by age 66 that rate climbs to 11 percent. Although older employees fall ill less frequently, their absences last longer — an average of 26.9 days per year compared with 17.4 days for colleagues under 50.
DAK CEO Andreas Storm has responded by urging companies to invest heavily in occupational health management. Only through systematic workplace health measures, he argues, can the long-term employability of the workforce be secured.
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One company already recognized for doing exactly that is Zurich Austria. The insurer received the BGF-Preis 2026, an award granted by the Austrian Network for Workplace Health Promotion, the Fonds Gesundes Österreich, and the Social Ministry. Zurich’s program integrates physical, mental, and social well-being. After the ceremony, CEO René Unger said: “Health is a fixed part of our corporate culture.” Such strategies are increasingly viewed across the sector as a tool for both recruiting and retaining talent.
Demand for health management specialists is correspondingly high. The Forschungszentrum Jülich is hiring a physician specializing in occupational medicine — the position is fixed-term until July 22, 2026, and is paid according to TVöD-Bund plus a specialist allowance of up to €1,000 per month. In Switzerland, the Rehaklinik Bellikon has advertised a role for an HR specialist in occupational health management; requirements include expertise in work psychology or health management and fluency in German and French.
Online job platforms such as XING, Indeed, and Stepstone list numerous vacancies for health management officers. Among the organizations recruiting are the Bundesärztekammer, Bremen Airport, and industrial companies including GP Günter Papenburg AG and Fissler. Monthly salaries for these roles range between €4,270 and €5,360.
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Yet while the workplace-health field is booming, the hospital sector is heading in the opposite direction. The German Hospital Association (DKG) has warned that the planned GKV-Beitragssatzstabilisierungsgesetz could endanger up to 140,000 jobs across the country. A study by the healthcare consultancy hcb concludes that nearly half of all German clinics face insolvency risk by 2030. For 2027, revenue declines of around 8 percent are expected.
DKG CEO Gerald Gaß has called for an orderly, decade-long restructuring of the hospital landscape. Without it, he warns, both patient care and employment levels will become unsustainable. The financial crisis is also squeezing the capacity of clinics to offer occupational health programs to their own staff — exactly the kind of support that, as the DAK report shows, the aging workforce increasingly needs.
