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PARIS, Thursday (AFP) The world's wealthiest countries should reverse the long-term trend of early retirement or face labour shortages, slower growth and ballooning social security bills, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development said Wednesday.

Workers over 50, with their wealth of experience, can offer tremendous value to business and society, but they are often discouraged from working or developing their skills, said the Paris-based OECD, which represents 30 industrialised countries.

These were among the key conclusions the OECD said it had found in a series of country-by-country evaluations of the policies influencing the work and retirement decisions of older people.

The OECD said it would release a series of 20 country reports over the next two years in which it will propose comprehensive measures for governments, employers and trade unions to take to counter the problem.

These measures include reforming pension and social benefits, implementing new pay and employment practices in the workplace, and improving opportunities to upgrade skills and remain active longer.

The OECD warning on the dangers of wasting the potential of the elderly coincided with Wednesday's rejection by French unions of the government's proposals to overhaul the pension system. One of the proposals is an easing of restrictions on older workers.

The first two OECD country reports, focusing on Sweden and Belgium, illustrate the difficulties facing many OECD countries and the types of measures required to improve job prospects of workers aged 50 and over, the organisation said.

Sweden has one of the oldest populations of all OECD member countries. Although recent substantial reform of the pension system in Sweden should strengthen incentives to later retirement, more action is needed, the OECD said.

For its part, Belgium stands at an important crossroads, the OECD said. After encouraging early retirement for more than two decades as a way to minimise the impact on unemployment of adverse economic and social shocks, the country needs to reverse course and promote longer working lives.

In 2001, just 41 percent of Belgians between the ages of 50 and 64 were working, 14 percentage points below the OECD average.

Belgium urgently needs comprehensive reforms that give older workers incentives to remain active, the OECD said, and the government should announce its intention to stop subsidising early retirement schemes.

Other country reports to be released soon were for Spain, Switzerland, South Korea and Japan. Reports were also planned for Australia, Austria, Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Britain and the United States.

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