In these times of demographic change, the expertise of experienced professionals and managers is more important than ever. As more and more people continue to work in later life, a working environment that is adapted to the needs of older employees is becoming increasingly important. With this in mind, the VAA is particularly interested in safeguarding and increasing the employability of older professionals.

The importance of flexible working models is on the rise, now that people tend to spend more of their lives working. Old-age working time reductions are just one example of flexible employment: the system allows employees to make a fluid transition into retirement while also enabling companies to benefit from older employees’ experience for longer. Another important thing to know is that employees in executive positions and non-executive employees not covered by the standard collective agreement are also entitled to old-age working time reduction. After all, many people who are approaching retirement age find it more appealing to make a fluid transition into retirement than to take the hard step from active to passive semi-retirement.

In view of the long-term forecasts on the development of statutory pension insurance schemes, company pensions are becoming an increasingly important cornerstone of retirement provisions. The VAA keeps track of the legal and social developments at national and European level through the occupational pensions committee. The association observes the changes in the pension schemes in companies and plays an active role in influencing compliance with the legal regulations. It carries out comparative studies on the pension schemes in chemistry companies, plus the retiree survey is conducted every three years to ascertain the average pension payments in the industry as a whole. 

The association helps its members to make the transition to retirement and beyond, giving them the right to obtain legal advice and legal protection in matters relating to labour law, invention protection law or pension law. These services include regular checks on pension adjustments and much more. And of course, spouses can also avail of these services in the event of the death of a VAA member.

Thanks to the community of VAA members, retirees can stay up to date on the latest developments even after the end of their working lives. Events such as annual trips offer VAA retirees plenty of opportunities to enjoy interesting talks and travel destinations chosen specifically to cater for their interests in the company of like-minded individuals. Retiree members of the VAA are attended to by the 60plus Committee. It deals with subjects of relevance to retirement and is responsible for preparing the information the VAA issues for retirees at the end of each year.