Healthy Working Life Expectancy in an Aging and Unequal Brazil: A Socioeconomic Perspective

Retirement ages are rising in many countries as a response to population aging and increasing longevity. However, recent gains in life expectancy have not been accompanied, proportionally, by improvements in health, and substantial inequalities in morbidity and mortality persist. Employment opportunities and family dynamics related to the division of domestic and care work also affect men and women differently across socioeconomic strata. Debates on extending working lives in Brazil therefore require an integrated approach that considers health, labor, education, and social protection, alongside careful attention to social and economic inequalities. This research examines differences in healthy working-life expectancy by gender and educational attainment among Brazilians aged 50 and over, using data from Wave 1 (2015–2016) from the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Aging (ELSI), and provides the first estimates in Brazil that jointly incorporate economic activity, retirement status, and health. Results reveal clear inequalities by gender and education. Among men, health is the primary determinant of active life expectancy, exerting greater influence than education. Among women, higher levels of schooling are associated with longer expected time in activity; nevertheless, across all educational strata, they spend fewer years active and healthy and more years inactive and in poor health. Although women can retire earlier, those with low or intermediate education are expected to spend a smaller share of their lives in retirement than equally educated men. Overall, educational inequalities in the status analyzed were more pronounced among women. The evidence presented demonstrates that extending working lives in Brazil will require not only legal adjustments but, above all, structural transformations that ensure dignified conditions enabling men and women across all socioeconomic strata to live longer, work in good health, and reach retirement with autonomy to choose how they wish to experience it.