| Topic: | Re:How Much Do You Need to Retire On? | |
| Posted by: | Joe Conneely | |
| Date/Time: | 21/06/11 22:00:00 |
| I hope this is not taking the original posting too far off track, but you actually hit on what is an an area that is a bit of a hobby horse with me I fear! As mentioned in my prior posting, there is a growing higher level of older people in the workforce (one in three being over 50 years across this decade, subject to the 2011 census reconfirming the trend). At the same time the over 60s age group is now greater than under 16s group in UK total population from the 2001 census. This would indicate to me the need to ensure fuller employment of this older working force, even on a a part time basis in both economic contribution and avoiding the social benefits cost drag you mention. However the facts are sadly moving in the other direction in the UK - over 50s are consistently underemployed, the ratio for that group rarely getting much above 45% and never exceeding 50% of the total employable. For 60-64 years, the latest figure I saw quoted were 40% in employment; for 65-69 years old - 10%; and, over 70 years - 2%. While school leavers and graduates are rightly having job opportunities creation programmes centrally financed, the deeper concern is that failure to properly retrain or redeploy older workers into full or part time employment will create wider and expensive drains on future UK generations. The potential costs arising around poorer personal health combined with wealth reduction through lower savings and pensions provisions for this age group has all the makings of a disaster waiting to happen. |