One third of older workers no longer have enough income to cover basic living costs, causing significant numbers to rethink their retirement plans.
The research by Phoenix Insights, in conjunction with Santander Consumer Finance, found that 46 per cent of older workers are having to change their retirement plans to fund ever-spiralling bills.
In addition a further 10 per cent of those who have retired are coming back into the workforce to help make ends meet, with another 26 per cent saying they may need to take this action in future.
The report, which has launched during National Older Workers Week, has found that If they were afforded a choice, 66 per cent of older workers would like to reduce their hours, but 41 per cent said that cannot afford to so.
If it were a viable option, almost two-thirds (63 per cent) of older workers admitted that they would like to take early retirement. For 48 per cent of workers, this is due to job dissatisfaction, and for 34 per cent, it is for health issues. A further 13 per cent would welcome early retirement due to caring responsibilities. Over half (51 per cent) admitted they would like to change careers.
The pandemic has played a clear role in the health decline of many older workers. Over a third (34 per cent) say their physical health has deteriorated over the course of the pandemic. 21 per cent say this is due to Covid itself, while 24 per cent say it is due to NHS backlogs. Significantly almost one in two (44 per cent) said their mental health has deteriorated over this period.
Six out of 10 of these older workers said that more flexible working would improve their job satisfaction, and this would help them stay in work for longer.
Catherine Foot, director of longevity think tank Phoenix Insights says: “With a third of the workforce already over 50 and this proportion set to continue to grow, it’s crucial that businesses are tackling age discrimination and providing the necessary support to enable employees to stay in work as long as they need to.
“Recruitment, development, re-skilling and retention of older workers, along with policies aimed to support flexible working, are vital in achieving this. There is much more that needs to be done by employers and the government to reimagine the workplace as people live and work for longer and we’d encourage all employers to consider initiatives that can really make a difference.”
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