Informal Work and Older Workers

This chapter examines one of the most overlooked realities of population ageing: the persistence of informal work in later life. Across much of the developing world, millions of older adults continue to earn their livelihoods in unregulated, low-paid, and physically demanding jobs that lack security or benefits. The chapter explores how ageing unfolds in contexts where formal safety nets are incomplete or inaccessible. It draws on multiple theoretical perspectives—life-course, dual labour-market, and capabilities approaches—to explain how disadvantage accumulates over time and why this accumulation is often sharper for women, who form a larger share of older informal workers due to occupational segregation and unpaid care responsibilities. Empirical focus is placed on Thailand and the Philippines, two rapidly ageing societies with high informality and evolving social protection systems. Through this analysis, the chapter reveals how informal work shapes financial insecurity, health risks, and dignity in later life, including gendered gaps in access to preventive care and protection, and it identifies pathways toward inclusive, age-responsive labour and welfare reforms that can transform necessity into greater security and recognition.