This chapter, which examines the link between pension reforms and take-up of disability benefits and, more generally, the importance of health considerations in the design of pension policies, begins with an overview of older workers’ participation to the labor market. It then describes the main historical changes that occurred in the pension system, in early retirement schemes, and in disability benefits, focusing on interactions that took place until the early eighties. This is followed by discussions of two changes that occurred post-1990: the 1993 pension reform which restricted access to full pension benefits at sixty; and increased control over sickness leaves covered by health insurance in 2003. It is shown that institutional changes or changes in the intensity of controls are sufficient to explain the changes in the take-up of disability benefits. There is also a lack of correlation between health and labor market status.