Retiring young was once the far-flung dream of millions, but our right to retire at the traditional retirement age of 60, is now becoming more of a fantasy.
Figures released by the Office for National Statistics in June this year saw, for the first time ever, more than one million people aged 65+ in employment. 1-in-10 people aged over 65 now have a job, up from 1-in-20 in 1993. And this figure is likely to grow in the future, as the effects of the recession force the 65+ group to stay in work for longer – further boosted by the continued rise in life expectancy and by the fact that the Baby Boomers are now reaching retirement age.
According to the Office for National Statistics, there were 169,000 MORE PEOPLE reaching their 65th birthday last year than in 2011, and estimates suggest that there will be well over 600,000 people reaching retirement age each year up until at least 2018.
So with over 720,000 people reaching the retirement age in 2013, we can expect the amount of 65+ in employment to grow-and-grow.
Findings from OMD UK’s Future of Britain study of 2,000 nationally representative respondents show that those aged 65+ have accepted their fate. They accept the average age of retirement to rise to 69 years old and 3% of them personally think they’ll never be in a position to retire.
However, an aging society which is active and ready for work (and let’s not forgot eager and willing to spend) should not be seen as negative.
Figures released by SQW Research found that the over 65s made a net contribution of £40 billion to the UK economy last year, which is forecast to grow to £77 billion by 2030 – driven by their tax contributions, their spending power, their delivery of social care and the value of their volunteering.
Whilst the 65+ may not be totally happy about working into older age, this is good news for brands as the ‘Grey Pound’ can help stem the decline in sales from younger generations.
2 Comments
With so many young people unemployed after graduation, I think the over 65’s should be given the option to retire (comfortably) even if it means paying a higher pension. There are young people wanting to work so badly and if we’r not paying pensions, we’re paying JSA (benefits) to these young people out of work.
I absolutely agree with Anya