It has been almost four years since the Default Retirement Age was abolished. On 1 October 2011, employers were no longer legally allowed to issue forced retirement notices to their employees as it was deemed to be a form of legal discrimination in the workplace.
In order to mark the third anniversary of the end of DRA, the government published analysis from the Department for Work and Pensions last October that revealed more than 1 million over 65s were choosing to stay in work at that time. According to the Labour Force Survey data, the employment rate for over 65’s has increased from 8.6 percent in October to December 2011 to 10.1 percent May to July 2014. The number of men over the age of 65 working in October 2011 has risen from 526,000 to 643,000. There are also more women over 65 in work. Since October 2011 the number of women in work has increased from 348,000 to 460,000.
In order to see how the abolition of the DRA has effected the retirement prospects of people across the UK, IT sales recruitment specialists Lucas Blake have conducted a survey of 1000 people across the UK, asking what age they plan to retire. The respondents include men and women between the ages of 18 and 65 across England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The survey results reveal that almost half of respondents (49.7 percent) will retire between the age of 60 and 69, and over a quarter of respondents (25.7 percent) are prepared to work to the age of 70 to 79. These age groups were the top two responses across all demographics.
The majority of males (41.0 percent) who took part in the survey said they expect to retire between the age of 60–69, whereas almost a quarter (23 percent) plan to work to the age of 70–79. These results were almost identical to the female responses. Over half of women (50.4 percent) believe that they will work to the age of 60–69, and 23.5 percent anticipate retiring between the age of 70–79. Kevin Buller, Chief Executive at Lucas Blake said “What is most revealing about the results is the fact that an increasing number of individuals are prepared to work over the age of 70. Over a quarter of the respondents are expecting to work to the age of 70–79. There are a number of reasons why people are choosing to work for longer, such as to increase their pension pots, have more money to bequeath to their, as well as out of necessity.”
The survey also reveals that more of the younger generation are expecting to work for longer compared to their older peers. Less than half of 18-24 year olds (46.2 percent) and 25-34 year olds (42.2 percent) expect to retire between 60 and 69. Over half of 35-44 year olds (55.2 percent) and 45-54 year olds (51.0 percent), alongside a massive 60.4 percent of 55-64 year olds, plan to retire at this time. Almost of third of 18-24 year olds (27.3 percent) and 25-34 year olds (30.7 percent) are expecting to work to the age of 70–79, whereas only 22.9 percent of 35-44 year olds and 22.2 percent of 45-54 year olds plan to retire at this time. A mere 19.5 percent of 55-64 year olds are prepared to work to the age of 70–79.
The results were also reflected in the responses across the geographic regions of the UK. 47.4 percent of respondents in Wales, 48.8 percent in England, 49.8 percent in Scotland and a whopping 69.2 percent in Northern Ireland plan to retire between 60 and 69. Less than a quarter of respondents in Scotland (14.9 percent) and Wales (21.4 percent) plan to retire between 70 and 79, whereas almost a third of England (27.1 percent) and Northern Ireland (30.8 percent) are prepared to work to this age. As well as the retirement choice the eradication of the DRA has provided to the workers of the UK, there are also a number of personal circumstances that can contribute to the option to work for longer.
By working for longer people are provided with financial opportunities, such as boosting their pension pot and having the ability to provide financial support to themselves and their family. However, there are also cases where people feel as though they cannot retire as they don’t have a pension in place that will cover the costs of living or the debt they may have accumulated. There are befits to people working for longer, for both the economy and the wider society. The skills and knowledge that decades of experience can produce are hugely valuable for companies, as well as new employees who can learn from these individuals. The youth of today who plan to work into their seventies will be the future workforce who will pass down their skills to future generations yet to come.
