🧭 Grass Brief

What 500 Swiss employers really think about workers aged 60plus: The gap between praise and practice

June 29, 20268 min readDennis Gorican

When Swiss companies are asked what they think of their employees over 60, the answers are overwhelmingly positive. More than 90 % say they value their experience and expertise. Two thirds praise their sense of responsibility and loyalty. More than half regard their knowledge of the corporate culture and their professional networks as genuine added value.

These are strong figures. They point to a labour market that recognises the value of its most experienced professionals.

But then one looks at what companies actually do.

Only 20 % clearly confirm that they hire new employees aged 60 and over. Only 13 % actively support working beyond the reference age. And 82 % report that retirement on reaching the reference age of 65 remains the rule in their organisation.

The gap between stated appreciation and operational reality is the most important finding of the new focus50plus study, produced by Alixio Group Schweiz on behalf of the Swiss Employers' Association and the Swiss Trade Association, based on the responses of 500 HR managers and executives across Switzerland. And for executives in transition who are over 60, understanding this gap is not an academic exercise. It is a strategic necessity.

Companies value experience. They just do not act on it consistently

The study paints a detailed picture of how Swiss employers perceive their 60plus workforce. The positive assessments are genuine and broadly held. 82 % say they benefit from long-standing experience and expertise. 67 % value the sense of responsibility and loyalty. 61 % highlight the knowledge of corporate culture and the ability to pass on rules and values. 56 % see professional networks as a clear advantage.

Where companies see limitations, the answers are more cautious. The perceived constraints of the 60plus workforce tend to centre on wage costs (26 % full agreement), IT skills and technical capabilities (22 %), and willingness to change (22 %). But even here the study observes something important: the tendency towards the middle of the scale suggests that companies recognise these as individual characteristics rather than as features of an age group. Willingness to change, for example, depends more on time spent in the current role than on chronological age.

The author of the study makes a useful observation: the considerable variation within the 60plus group means that careful individual assessment matters more than generalising assumptions. This is exactly what our coaching practice confirms. The difference between a 62-year-old executive who has spent three decades in one company and one who has navigated multiple transformations across different industries is enormous. Age is a poor indicator of capability.

The normative force of 65

Perhaps the most striking finding of the study is how strongly the state-defined reference age shapes company behaviour. Only 19 % of the employers surveyed consider 65 too early to end working life. 63 % consider that point exactly right. And 18 % even consider it too late.

This is remarkable given the demographic context. Switzerland will face a shortfall of around 400'000 workers over the next ten years. Companies regularly report difficulties in finding qualified specialists. And yet four out of five employers see 65 as an appropriate end point to a career, even while acknowledging that the people who reach that age bring irreplaceable experience.

The reference age, the study observes, appears to exert an almost normative force. Companies align their entire retirement practice with it, as though it were a state recommendation rather than merely a reference point for pension calculations. Replacing the term "ordinary retirement age" with "reference age" in the AHV reform has so far done nothing to change this dynamic.

For executives in transition, this insight is directly relevant. Anyone entering the market at 61 or 62 is operating in a system in which many employers are already mentally counting down the time to departure. The perceived remaining "run time" influences hiring decisions in a way that is rarely stated openly but consistently felt.

What companies offer versus what they actively promote

The study reveals a further gap that is relevant to your audience. Asked whether they support their 60plus employees, Swiss companies respond broadly positively. 67 % confirm a culture of appreciation for all age groups. 60 % offer flexible working time models and part-time arrangements. 44 % actively promote cooperation between the generations.

But when one looks at the measures aimed specifically at retaining 60plus talent and attracting new talent, the picture becomes more selective. Only 29 % clearly confirm systematic and individual retirement planning. Only 28 % offer health promotion and programmes to maintain working capacity for this group. Only 20 % clearly confirm the hiring of employees aged 60plus. And only 30 % actively promote continued work beyond the reference age.

The pattern is consistent: companies invest in broad, inclusive measures (culture, flexibility, intergenerational cooperation) that benefit all employees, but underinvest in the specific actions that would retain 60plus professionals or attract new ones. The infrastructure of appreciation exists. The infrastructure of active retention does not, at least not consistently.

The retirement age 67 scenario

The study tested a hypothetical scenario: what would a reference age of 67 mean for Swiss companies? The answers are instructive.

79 % of companies state that they would extend employment relationships accordingly. 79 % see potential for retaining valuable expertise. 57 % believe it would help reduce the skills shortage. And majorities expect more flexible working models, adapted roles and increased hiring of 60plus professionals.

The agreement is restrained rather than enthusiastic, which the study attributes to the hypothetical nature of the question. But the direction is clear: companies see potential advantages in a higher reference age. They have simply not yet tested it in practice. The study recommends that companies actively trial the "working until 67" scenario internally rather than waiting for a political decision. Practical experience would generate insights that serve both the companies themselves and the wider political debate.

What this means for executives over 60 in transition

For senior professionals navigating the market at 60 or beyond, the focus50plus study provides a realistic map of the terrain.

The good news is genuine: companies really do value what experienced professionals bring. Expertise, networks, institutional memory and reliability are recognised strengths, not polite abstractions. When you are sitting in front of a decision-maker, these qualities are real differentiators, particularly in industries facing an acute skills shortage.

The challenge is equally real: the system around those decision-makers, the HR policies, the retirement norms, the implicit assumptions about career end points, often works against you before you even enter the room. The reference age creates a gravitational force that shortens the perceived return on investment of hiring someone over 60. Even when the individual decision-maker recognises your value, the organisational framework can resist.

This is precisely why positioning is so decisive for this age group. As we have discussed in earlier Grass Briefs, executives over 60 must lead with current competence and forward momentum rather than career history alone. The market needs to see what you bring for the next three to five years, not a summary of the last thirty. Flexible models, interim mandates, advisory roles and project-based engagements can be particularly effective, because they remove the perceived risk of a long-term commitment while giving companies access to precisely the experience they say they value.

Your Right 100 network becomes even more important. From 60 onwards, the hidden job market is not merely the primary channel. It is often the only realistic one. Positions at this level and at this age are almost never filled through public advertisements. They emerge through conversations, referrals and trust built over time. The executives who remain visible and connected to the right people will continue to have options. Those who rely on applications alone will face a system that works structurally against them, regardless of how strong their profile is.

A shared responsibility

The focus50plus study makes clear that the challenge of integrating 60plus professionals is not one-sided. Companies must move beyond general appreciation and invest actively in retention, hiring and the maintenance of working capacity. The political system must bring financial incentives and pension flexibility into line with demographic reality. And those affected must themselves invest in maintaining their own employability: in their competences, their networks, their health and their willingness to adapt.

What the study does not say, but what we see in our coaching every day: the executives who navigate this phase most successfully are those who refuse to accept the reference age as a definition of their professional identity. They understand the final chapter of their career not as a countdown but as a contribution. They bring clarity about what they offer, specificity about where they want to apply it, and the professional discipline to remain visible in a market that needs them more than it admits.

The evidence is unambiguous: Switzerland needs its 60plus professionals. The task now is to close the gap between what companies say and what they do. And for experienced executives: to position themselves so that this gap is impossible to ignore.

Sources: focus50plus / Alixio Group Schweiz, "Arbeitskräfte 60plus im Fokus der Unternehmen: Anreize und Hindernisse zur Anstellung und Beschäftigung von Arbeitskräften 60plus", 2026; Swiss National Bank, Employment Outlook, July 2025; Deloitte / Canton of Zurich, "Rezepte gegen den demografisch bedingten Wohlstandsverlust", 2026; Swiss Life, "Arbeit ohne Altersgrenzen?", 2024; BFS, labour force participation of 55-64 year olds, 2024.