Database of good practices on ageing

Older workers in South Korea, particularly those who might otherwise face age-based discrimination in employment.

South Korea has achieved record-high older worker employment, with 40.8% of those aged 65+ employed in Q2 2025, the highest on record, and leading the OECD with a 37.3% participation rate in 2023.

The 1991 enactment of the Elderly Employment Promotion Act laid the initial legal foundation for promoting employment among older persons in South Korea. In 2008, the law was comprehensively revised and renamed the Act on Prohibition of Age Discrimination in Employment and Elderly Employment Promotion, formally prohibiting age discrimination and institutionalizing age categories (e.g., “aged” as 55+ and “middle-aged” as 50–54). Subsequent amendments and enforcement decrees refined its scope, with the 2022 partial amendment further modernizing the law to address demographic shifts and evolving labor market conditions.

The Act provides a strong legal foundation by explicitly prohibiting age discrimination in hiring, pay, promotion, and termination, with criminal penalties for employers who retaliate against complainants. It has proven adaptable through major reforms, such as the 2008 overhaul and 2022 updates, and continues to evolve through active societal debate. Aligned with demographic realities, it encourages older individuals to remain in the workforce and supports inclusion through re-employment programs, training subsidies, and flexible work arrangements. While execution challenges remain, its enforcement mechanisms, court rulings, and ongoing policy dialogue offer a solid basis for improving labour market equity for an ageing population.

• https://www.hrw.org/news/2025/07/08/south-korea-older-workers-low-paid-precarious-work?utm_source
• https://hr.asia/asia-pacific/more-seniors-than-youth-in-south-koreas-workforce-amid-pension-gaps/?utm_source

Older persons between 65 and 70 years of age who choose to continue to be in employed labour

As a result of the act, more companied implemented measures to enable older persons to work. 

The act builds on earlier amendments of the law. It builds on guidelines from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare and was shaped by consultations with trade unions. 

In line with the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing (MIPAA) it addresses aged-based discrimination and creates employment for older persons. It also enhances the pool of labour for the private sector. 

Over 30% of Companies Secure Jobs for Employees until the Age of 70: MHLW's 2024 Report on the Employment Condition of Elderly Persons, Japan Labor Issues Volume 9 Number 53, Summer 2025

A Society Where People Can Work Even at Age 70 - Japan Policy Forum

Older citizens of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa district, Pakistan

It establishes a legal base for a Social Welfare Fund and issuance of senior citizens cards. 

Practitioners in different line Ministry benefit from a clear action plan. Older citizens of Kazakhstan are the ultimate beneficiaries

This action plan established the need for Active Longevity Centrees. As of January 1, 2023, there were a total of 63 centers operating throughout the country.

The action plan was planned by the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of Kazakhstan with technical assistance from the UNFPA. It involves coordinated effort across multiple sectors, such as healthcare, social services, employment, family support, and engages ministries and local authorities. The Department of Social Assistance Policy Development is responsible for submitting an annual consolidated report on implementation progress to the Minister of  Labour and Social Protection.

This Action Plan focuses on improving the quality of life of older persons by addressing multiple key sectors, and not just one area. Therefore, it strives to improve quality of life across the board. It also emphasises community participation through its active ageing centres. Further, its annual reporting requirement ensures accountability, as well as ongoing evaluation of progress toward objectives, making the plan more sustainable and the goals more achievable.

Action Plan for Improving the Situation of Senior Citizens "Active Longevity" until 2025 | Ageing Policies Database - UNECE

All stakeholders involved in the implementation are direct beneficiaries. The ultimate beneficiaries are all Singaporean citizens and Permanent Residents across the life course, but primarily older persons. 

The refreshed Action Plan was developed through an extensive co-creation process led by Singapore's Ministerial Committee on Ageing (MCA). Between 2019 and 2021, more than 5,000 Singaporeans participated in over 40 engagement sessions, including focus group discussions, surveys, social media consultations, and a Citizens' Panel on Contribution. Participants included older persons, community organizations, businesses, ethnic organizations, government agencies, and members of the public. The consultations identified key concerns and aspirations that shaped the three pillars of the plan: Care, Contribution and Connectedness (3Cs).

Implementation follows a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach coordinated by the Ministerial Committee on Ageing, which was established in 2007 to coordinate policies related to population ageing.

The Action Plan contains a built-in monitoring framework based on measurable targets and indicators.

Singapore's 2023 Action Plan for Successful Ageing is a good practice because it adopts a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach to population ageing, developed through extensive consultations with all stakeholders and it also contains a monitoring framework. 

The primary beneficiaries are Thai adults aged 25–59 preparing for old age, as well as current older persons, with a focus on improving quality of life, health, economic security, social inclusion, and innovation-driven care systems.

As the plan is newly launched, comprehensive outcome data is not yet available. However, supportive insights are emerging: the 2022 national “Situation of the Thai Older Persons” report highlights initiatives promoting employment and new career options for older Thais—enhancing income security and societal participation.

Crafted through extensive stakeholder engagement—from central to local levels—the plan builds on four sub‑plans covering pre‑old age readiness, equitable quality-of-life improvements, systemic integration, and research & innovation. It includes defined indicators for monitoring (e.g., poverty reduction, healthy life expectancy, care access), establishes mechanisms for annual and five-year evaluations, and calls for budget integration across sectors and monitoring by the Department of Older Persons and the National Committee on Older Persons.

It is a long-term (15-year), evidence-informed, multi-sectoral framework with clear monitoring mechanisms and adaptive governance, fostering integration and innovation to holistically support both present and future older populations.

• https://www.researchgate.net/publication/374539711_Situation_of_the_Thai_Older_Persons_2022

Vulnerable populations across the life cycle, including older persons (60+), poor older persons, widows, persons with disabilities, and low-income households. 

The NSSS helped drive the expansion the "Old Age Allowance Programme" which provides cash payments to older persons and has increased coverage from 2.5 million to around 4.4 million older persons between 2015 and 2020. 

Developed as the national roadmap following NSSS approval. Implementation occurred through phased reforms, programme consolidation, budget alignment, and strengthening of beneficiary targeting systems.

National Social Security Strategy

Older persons in Mongolia requiring mild support

Pilot results showed that the hubs:

• Reduced social isolation
• Improved health outcomes for moderately and severely dependent older adults
• Enhanced support for family caregivers
  These outcomes are documented in ADB’s follow‑up reports detailing feasibility and community impact.

The Active Aging Hubs were incorporated into Mongolia’s National Operational Plan for Long‑Term Care (2022–2024), which formalized the need for developing a comprehensive long‑term care system and supported piloting AAHs for scalable national expansion. [adb.org]

The AAH approach addresses Mongolia’s demographic challenges—rapid ageing, rural depopulation, and weakened family‑based support structures—by bringing services closer to where older adults live. It represents a high‑impact, innovative, and scalable model that other countries with dispersed populations can adapt.

Each hub is supported by a steering committee including local governors, health officials, NGOs, and elder associations. This ensures inter‑sectoral coordination, improves referral pathways, and creates community ownership—critical for a vast country with dispersed populations.

Developing Community-Based Long-Term Care Services for Older Adults: Lessons From A Pilot Project in Mongolia | Asian Development Bank

The direct beneficiaries are policymakers and other stakeholders who benefit from data and analysis on population-ageing for evidence-based policymaking. 

It generated data to be used for evidence-based policymaking. 

Developed under the 2019–2021 project “Building a Society for All Ages,” jointly implemented by the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of the Population and UNFPA.  The project prepared Azerbaijan’s first Active Ageing Index through surveys and national statistics for people aged 55 and over. It measured the extent to which older people live independently, work and participate in society, and was designed for use at both national and sub‑national levels. A report was also carried out by the UNFPA and Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of population of the Republic of Azerbaijan in order to analyse the index, finding that the principles reinforced by the AAI are crucial for healthy ageing on a societal level. Further, the AAI successfully surveyed 2,002 adults aged 55+ in October 2020 accross nine regions allowing for the official index to be calculated.

The index uses an internationally standardised methodology, producing evidence for policy and allowing comparison with other countries.  By identifying strengths and gaps, it supports data‑driven planning at national and regional levels and can be replicated elsewhere.

https://ageing-policies.unece.org/browse-policy/132

Active Ageing Index - benefits and opportunities for Azerbaijan - AZERTAC

Policymakers are the direct beneficiaries. 

The AAI increased the evidence-based for policymaking. 

The AAI methodology originated in 2012 under UNECE guidance, tied to the European Year for Active Ageing and Solidarity between Generations, and comprises 4 domains built from 22 underlying indicators (e.g., employment rates by age band, volunteering, caregiving, health access, income security, digital literacy, life expectancy metrics). TurkStat adapted the methodology to Turkish national data, first calculating national- and sex-disaggregated scores for 2023, then extending the methodology in 2024 to produce regional (SR Level 1) breakdowns by sex. 

It is a good practice because it adapts well-tested methodology,  enabling Türkiye to analyse and better assess its own demographic trends and further allows to benchmark itself against other countries using identical domains and scoring logic.  It draws on standard demographic and labor-force data collectable through routine national statistical infrastructure (TurkStat), enabling standardised re-measurement over time. Finally, this practice also functions as a diagnostic tool that can assist governmental, public and private,  organizations in developing targeted policy interventions where needed. 

Active Ageing Index, 2024 | Ageing Policies Database - UNECE