Research of over 700 employers by Hargreaves Lansdown shows businesses are not prepared for employees changing retirement habits;
Almost half (46.4 percent) do not currently have a strategy in place to manage an ageing workforce. Only 1 in 4 employers (24.59 percent) does not anticipate an increased demand for part time working from their older employees. Less than 1 percent of employers offer employees the opportunity to take a retirement sabbatical (a few months off before deciding if they want to retire permanently). This is despite the DWP finding 28 percent of employees would take advantage of this if available.
However, more than 1 in 3 (36.18 percent) engage with staff to facilitate part time working. More than 1 in 3 (37.89 percent) look to transfer the skills and knowledge from older workers to more junior members of staff. Nathan Long – Senior Pension Analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown; “Employers are clearly aware of the fact that ‘retirement’ is now a long, drawn out and much more personalised process for many workers. However it is worrying that almost half of businesses are yet to put in place a strategy to cope with this phenomenon.”
“Some will have young workforces and so this will be well down the priority list, but employers should remember transition to semi-retirement can occur from age 55. Staff will increasingly draw from their pension whilst still working. Any workplace pensions that do not currently offer this flexibility will need to adapt or make way for the range of group pensions that already offer this freedom.”
