|
Take a look around the office. How old are your colleagues? At a guess they probably range from their early 20's to late 40's although this can vary depending on the type of work that you do.
Most of us follow the same path, we venture into work after school or university in our teens or early 20's and continue to work through until we retire in our 60's (what can happen in between is anyone's guess!). However, those at the early or mid point of their careers might have to wait a little longer than their predecessors for that delightful carriage clock issued upon retirement. The next few years are going to bring about some big changes in the way we retire and our needs in later life.
For both employers and employees retiring at 60 or earlier is considered both normal and appropriate. However, experts calculate that people leaving work at this age is costing the UK economy a staggering £31billion per year. This is due to the fact that the economic cost of this inactivity is a fall in the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) that is the volume of services and products produced. This is set to rocket if retirement legislation continues as it stands. By 2006, 45-59 year olds will form the largest group in the labour force and there will be more 55-64 year olds than 16-44 year olds for the first time. Over the next 25 years the population aged 50 and above will increase by six million whilst those aged between 16 and 50 will fall by 1.5million. This will mean that by 2025 for every two people employed there is likely to be one person older than 50 who is either retired or inactive.
Experts are warning that things need to change as a reduced working life combined with a greater life expectancy don't add up.
Peter Thompson, chairman of the National Association of Pension Funds stated that "The retired part of our lives cannot continue to expand apparently without limit, while the working part stays the same or reduces - not if we expect to continue to enjoy a reasonable standard of living in retirement." He added, "What is needed is a fundamental review of what we mean by retirement and what we mean by work in an era where flexible working and so on are likely to become more common."
Besides the increase in life expectancy there are other factors that are going to influence the population and its needs in later life. Richard Worsely of futurologists The Tomorrow Project states that "With life expectancy growing longer there is simply more for us to pay for. Many of us are having children later so they will be dependent on us longer and need help with university bills. Then comes the cost of long-term care for our parents, not to mention the financial demands of second families."
All this adds up to big bills in the middle and later parts of our lives. As Worsely continues "We are all going to have to think very hard and very soon about what a longer life means to us and businesses need to work out how they are going to get the skills and talents they need from a very differently shaped population."
Some large companies are working towards a flexible approach to retirement. Nationwide, Britain's biggest building society, is planning to raise its standard retirement age by 10 years to 70 in an attempt to retain skilled and experienced staff. Though this move is a radical one, Nationwide's decision is based on sound business sense. Research conducted earlier this year found that 97.7 per cent of employees aged over 50 were rated as good, excellent or exceptional compared to 93.3 per cent of those under 25. More than a quarter of older employees were rated as excellent or exceptional and are infrequently absent, though they are absent for longer periods. With Nationwide, existing staff will be able to continue to work past standard retirement age and for the first time recruitment advertising is being targeted at the over 45's.
The number of Nationwide staff over 50 has increased by 10 per cent. Older staff loyalty has helped to reduce staff turnover to below half the industry average, which has saved Nationwide £10 million in recruitment costs last year alone. Other companies like Carphone Warehouse, B&Q and Eagle Star are also realising that by using older staff in branches they are reaching grey consumers.
Employers are beginning to realise that they have a huge staffing problem but despite the positive action taken by some employers the prejudice against older workers remains widespread. The Employers Federation on Age (EFA), who confront age discrimination in the workplace reported that 9 out of 10 people over 50 were given no training at all from their employer. 40 per cent of people who retired early feel they were forced to against their will and would rather have continued to work. It seems that older staff are a wide resource that remain ignored.
The government has made it clear that it wants us to prepare for a self-sufficient old age. However, having signed up to the EU directive to outlaw ageism in the workplace by 2006, it has failed to meet many of it's own deadlines. The answer seems to be flexible pension legislation and a change in rules that will allow employees to reduce their working hours whilst supplementing their income with part of their pension.
This argument is not without it's criticism. Many charities representing older people argue that workers in lower paid or unskilled jobs may be prejudiced against if the retirement age moves up and an increase in retirement ages erode our right to a long and enjoyable post-work life.
Whether you view retirement as an entitlement or the product of a society that has a habit of writing off members of society once they've had their 50th birthday, it's hard to ignore the evidence that points to a need for radical change. It's also hard to ignore the fact that far from tending to our geraniums in later life, economic and social trends will demand that we grow old at the office.
|
