From retirement to employment in the RUT sector : Pensioners providing paid domestic care for the elderly
Anving, Terese LU
and Eldén, Sara
(2025)
European Sociological Association: Interrim meeting, Research Network 14
- Abstract
- Since the introduction of the RUT tax deduction in 2007, the market for private domestic care services has grown rapidly in Sweden. Today, deductions can be made for cleaning and gardening, as well as for care services such as going for walks, providing companionship, assisting with dressing, and helping with personal hygiene. One main group that make use of the tax deduction are elderly over the age of 65 (Riksrevisionen, 2020:5). The employees in the sector are, however, less researched. Previous studies have shown that women and people with migrant background are overrepresented, (Eldén & Anving, 2019; Riksrevisionen, 2020; Silfver Widding, 2024), but in our study of the RUT-market targeting the elderly we have observed a new group... (More)
- Since the introduction of the RUT tax deduction in 2007, the market for private domestic care services has grown rapidly in Sweden. Today, deductions can be made for cleaning and gardening, as well as for care services such as going for walks, providing companionship, assisting with dressing, and helping with personal hygiene. One main group that make use of the tax deduction are elderly over the age of 65 (Riksrevisionen, 2020:5). The employees in the sector are, however, less researched. Previous studies have shown that women and people with migrant background are overrepresented, (Eldén & Anving, 2019; Riksrevisionen, 2020; Silfver Widding, 2024), but in our study of the RUT-market targeting the elderly we have observed a new group of employees: Swedish women pensioners that take upon hourly employment after their own retirement. In this paper, we focus specifically on this group of workers and, based on data from interviews with RUT companies, employees, elderly individuals purchasing the services, and their relatives (40 interviews so far), we analyse, firstly, their different pathways to employment in the RUT sector, and secondly, how the they understand and view their work, as well as, how they negotiate their position and relationship to the elderly. We argue that the sector constructs a new ideal of “grateful elderly woman worker”, masking precarious working conditions that reproduce intersecting inequalities of gender and age. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/8ed52a8e-866d-4f23-a456-b37b33486123
- author
- Anving, Terese
LU
and Eldén, Sara
- organization
- publishing date
- 2025
- type
- Contribution to conference
- publication status
- unpublished
- subject
- conference name
- European Sociological Association: Interrim meeting, Research Network 14
- conference location
- Lund, Sweden
- conference dates
- 2025-08-28 - 2025-08-29
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 8ed52a8e-866d-4f23-a456-b37b33486123
- date added to LUP
- 2025-08-29 17:02:26
- date last changed
- 2026-04-20 12:18:43
@misc{8ed52a8e-866d-4f23-a456-b37b33486123,
abstract = {{Since the introduction of the RUT tax deduction in 2007, the market for private domestic care services has grown rapidly in Sweden. Today, deductions can be made for cleaning and gardening, as well as for care services such as going for walks, providing companionship, assisting with dressing, and helping with personal hygiene. One main group that make use of the tax deduction are elderly over the age of 65 (Riksrevisionen, 2020:5). The employees in the sector are, however, less researched. Previous studies have shown that women and people with migrant background are overrepresented, (Eldén & Anving, 2019; Riksrevisionen, 2020; Silfver Widding, 2024), but in our study of the RUT-market targeting the elderly we have observed a new group of employees: Swedish women pensioners that take upon hourly employment after their own retirement. In this paper, we focus specifically on this group of workers and, based on data from interviews with RUT companies, employees, elderly individuals purchasing the services, and their relatives (40 interviews so far), we analyse, firstly, their different pathways to employment in the RUT sector, and secondly, how the they understand and view their work, as well as, how they negotiate their position and relationship to the elderly. We argue that the sector constructs a new ideal of “grateful elderly woman worker”, masking precarious working conditions that reproduce intersecting inequalities of gender and age.}},
author = {{Anving, Terese and Eldén, Sara}},
language = {{eng}},
title = {{From retirement to employment in the RUT sector : Pensioners providing paid domestic care for the elderly}},
year = {{2025}},
}