A quarter of people who took early retirement have returned to work part-time, a survey by the Dutch Council for Work and Income has found.

The council, a government advisory body, has found that the trend is strongest among early retirees aged 56 or less. They say they are working again to further their personal development. The returnees are refusing inconvenient work schedules, however, and do not want to be subjected to pressure. Their contracts are almost without exception flexible and temporary, so both employer and employee can easily terminate the relationship at short notice.

Earning money in addition to one's retirement benefit has increased since 2000, the Council for Work and Income says. According to the council's interpretation, many people think they left the labour market too soon.

The survey was based on data supplied by Statistics Netherlands and on interviews with 1022 early retirees and 300 employers. 

Knowledge and experience
About half the employers told the council pollers that they hired early retirees because of their specific knowledge and experience.

Early retirement was a temporary measure to alleviate the pressure on the job market. Jobs vacated by people who retired early were taken by school leavers and young graduates. Meanwhile the situation has changed, and the government is considering to raise the current retirement age of 65 by two years. Having more people at work and paying income tax is necessary to finance the Netherlands' pension schemes, Social Affairs Minister Piet Hein Donner has said.