Commenting on today’s figures, Alistair McQueen, Head of Savings & Retirement at Aviva said: “Age should be no barrier to an individual’s opportunity to contribute and the population of older workers in the UK is booming – with more than 10 million workers aged 50 and above.
“Women are leading the way in embracing this change. The rise in the state pension age for women since 2010 has been matched by a fall in the number of women defining themselves as “retired” before the age of 65, a flexibility in employment that deserves recognition.
“As our society ages it will be critical to encourage more older workers to contribute to the economy. Workers – especially women – are already stepping up to the challenge. In Aviva, for example, we are supporting more flexible working, supporting those with caring responsibilities, and have been piloting mid-life career reviews for those in their 50s. More must be done and the responsibility now lies with employers to support their workers through this change.”
Commenting on today’s UK labour market report, Steven Cameron, Aegon’s Pension Director, said: “Today’s ONS figures report that the increase in female state pension age, which will equal the male age of 65 from October this year, has meant fewer women are retiring between the ages of 60 and 65. Partly as a result of this, the proportion of women aged 16 to 64 is at its joint highest rate since records began in 1971. With state pension age rising to age 66 for both men and women by 2020, there’s every likelihood that more people will defer their retirement in line with state pension age increases.
“The good news is these changes in working patterns come at a time when people have the prospect of a longer and healthier retirement. The Pension freedoms introduced in 2015 have also played a central role in providing flexibility, with around three quarters of respondents in a recent survey saying they believed the freedoms helped them make a better transition from work into retirement.
“Remaining in employment for longer also allows people to continue to build up more of a private pension, including from employer contributions and this can make a surprisingly big difference to their overall retirement prospects.”
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