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Objective With increasing participation of older adults in the labor force, understanding the dynamics of health-related work limitations is critical for promoting sustainable employment. This study applies an age-period-cohort (APC) modeling framework to Korean longitudinal data, aiming to isolate the independent contributions of age, period, and birth cohort to changes in work capability. Recognizing the role of social stratification, we further stratified analyses by gender and educational level to identify vulnerable subgroups.Material and Methods This study utilized data from the Korea Labor and Income Panel Study collected between 1998 and 2023, comprising 7,811 adults aged 50–85. Health-related work limitation was assessed annually from 2003 onward. APC effects were examined using generalized additive mixed models (GAMMs), with subgroup analyses conducted by gender and educational level.Results The percentage of work-capable individuals declined with age but improved in recent periods. Stratified APC analyses revealed consistent age effects and modest period effects across all subgroups. The high-education groups—particularly men—showed the strongest cohort effects, exceeding age effects. In contrast, women exhibited greater cohort effects than men in the low and middle education groups.Conclusion Taken together, this study highlights the independent roles of age, period, and cohort effects in shaping work capability among older Korean adults. The pronounced cohort effects in highly educated men suggest accumulated social advantages over generations, while larger cohort improvements among less-educated women imply narrowing disparities. Strong cohort effects among the highly educated, irrespective of gender, suggest improved labor force sustainability in more educated cohorts. These findings underscore the need for forward-looking policies to support healthy and productive working lives in the context of ongoing educational expansion.