There needs to be a reassessment of later-life working and retirement in order to give people in Britain better incomes, Ros Altmann, the government’s older workers’ champion, has said.
Ms Altmann said that, despite living longer lives, most people stop work at a younger age than they did in the 1950s, and warned that failing to make the most of the value older people have was a recipe for economic decline.
She said: “We need a new mindset – one that accepts that chronological age does not determine ability to work. Most people are still fit and well at much older ages than before.
“It is astonishing that the improvements in health and demographic realities have not fed through to labour market and retirement thinking.
“Let’s stop wasting resources and embrace longer working lives, helping those below state pension age to stay engaged in the world of work, while ensuring those who want to work beyond state pension age can continue to do so, perhaps part-time if they prefer.”
Ms Altmann’s comments were backed up by Baroness Sally Greengross, chief executive of ILC-UK, who said: “With the growth in the number of people aged 15-64 likely to slow over coming decades, businesses will have to put emphasis on recruiting older talent and ensuring lower levels of “brain drain” from their organisations.”
Adviser view
Danny Cox, head of financial planning for Bristol-based Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “You only have to look at how the State Pension age is being pushed back to age 68 to see that the majority of people will not be able to enjoy a full retirement until later in life.
“Only those who have sufficient means will have the greatest flexibility to choose when, where and how they retire. The new pension freedoms help provide this flexibility. The more you save and the longer the period, the greater your income will be in retirement.”
