Against the background of the need of a higher effective retirement age, the study surveys the current position of the elderly in the German labor market. It discusses the conditions that would help fostering the labour market integration of  agents older than 50, focusing on human resource management practices on firms, as well as suitable labor market policies and institutions. In addition, the study provides an ex ante assessment of two important policy reforms that affect the labor market status and retirement decisions of older workers, namely the introduction of a general minimum wage, and the possibility to retire at age 63 without pension cut for agent with very long records of contribution payments.