Older workers to delay retirement

A CIPD survey of 2000 older workers sheds light on people's thoughts about retirement. 71 per cent of those aged 55 and above now plan to work on past state pension age, compared with just 40 per cent in a similar survey conducted two years ago.

Although financial reasons were given as a driver for wanting or having to work on, there were plenty of other motivations cited in the survey.

Sixty-five per cent said they would like to continue using their skills and experience.

Fifty-eight per cent said they wanted the social interaction that work brings and 44 per cent said work was good for their self esteem.

The older people get, or the closer to state pension age, the more likely they are to be planning to work on, the survey shows, suggesting that “reality bites as they get close to drawing their pension”.

Nearly half of those aged 45 to 54 expect to work on past a state pension age that on current plans will rise to 66 in 2026 and 67 in 2036.

In recent years, the numbers working on past state pension age have been one of the fastest growing sections of the workforce.

The most recent figures from the Office of National Statistics show that more than 1.4m are currently working past state pension age – 450,000 men aged over 65 and 953,000 women aged over 60.

Over the past year, that section of the workforce has risen by 5.8 per cent when employment has fallen for almost all other age groups.

Men aged over 50 hit hardest by unemployment

According to a new CIPD report.

Older workers are finding it tougher than other age groups to rejoin the job market after being made redundant. Fewer than one in five over-50s find employment within three months of losing their job, compared to more than 40 per cent of 25 to 34 year olds, official figures show.

Men in the 50-plus age band are faring the worst, with long term unemployment - being jobless for more than six months - doubling in the age group in the past year. This effectively forces men into early retirement, says the alliance of organisations.

In contrast, the rate of long term unemployment among women aged over 50 has only risen half as much, possibly due to their ability to work part-time or willingness to take lower paid roles in the service sector.

Existing government and employer initiatives, such as the Job Guarantee scheme, focus on helping 18 to 24 year olds into employment.

Dianah Worman, the CIPD’s diversity adviser, suggested a similar scheme could help older workers. “For older workers it is far too easy for long-term unemployment to turn into permanent disengagement from the labour market. A job guarantee for older workers would send a signal that these people cannot and should not be resigned to spend the rest of their life reliant on the state.”

Andrew Harrop, head of public policy at Age Concern and Help the Aged, said: “An end to the working lives of men in their 50s now will not only condemn them to an uncomfortable retirement, but will also deprive the recovering economy of their skills and experience, just when they are most needed. The Government must take action in the Pre-Budget Report to avoid creating a lost generation of older workers.”

We would also argue that there must be more emphasis on flexible working which is what the 50`s say that they want. We need to stop thinking that this is all about creating masses more of 40+ hour a week jobs.

CIPD argue in favour of abandoning 65 retirement default

The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development believes the days of the compulsory retirement age are numbered.

The European Court of Justice found that the Default Retirement Age (DFA) does not contravene the European Framework Directive on equal treatment. However the CIPD maintains that experienced and capable older workers are losing out by not having the choice of staying on in employment.

Mike Emmott, CIPD Employee Relations Adviser said: “Compulsory retirement ages can leave organisations blindly waving goodbye to valuable skills and experience. They do not just hit people at retirement age. They can lead to lazy management of workers for many years as older employees are filed by their managers under the ‘soon to retire’ category.”

A CIPD research report 'Future Demand for Working Among Older Workers' found that just under two-fifths (38%) of individuals intend to work beyond the age of 65, with most (68%) citing financial necessity as the main reason for staying on. A futher 31% of individuals would continue to work beyond retirement age if their employer allowed them to work flexibly.