People are living longer and their health is continually improving, what was once considered ‘old’ is now just the start of a new chapter in people’s lives.
For some who work in manual roles, the idea of working well into their 70s is daunting but for others who are in less physical roles, the idea of stopping is just as scary.
There needs to be a new open discussion on what retirement means to different people and look at how these can both be funded but also how those years of knowledge and skills are retained within businesses
Back in the ’70s the image of retirement was reaching a date, being given a gold watch and told to leave. Retirees would then have a couple of years of maybe travelling or relaxing before falling ill and dying. Life expectancy was 69 for men and 72 for women in 1971.
Now men have a life expectancy of 79 years and women 83. Meaning that given the UK expected retirement age is now 67, men have 12 years of life expectancy and women 16 years.
But retirees cannot be expected to continue working at the same level as their health starts to reduce and fail.
REVERSE RETIREMENT
What if instead of getting to an arbitrary date on a calendar, eased their way into retirement and worked much longer, reversing the retirement would involve taking an ever-decreasing role within a business whilst slowly increasing the retirement benefit that they take? Obviously, this type of arrangement will require both the government and companies to work together to ensure that retirees have the correct support.
Those members of staff who have achieved a level of knowledge or skills can use this time to retrain the younger staff and to act as mentors and coaches for the others, for example, if someone has become a senior manager then they can start by training their successor or stepping down into a lower level role, reducing their level of responsibility but still being a productive member of the team. If their role is more physical then maybe stepping into a less active role within the business, maybe retraining to take on something that they are able to continue with without it being a physical strain on them whilst also reducing their hours.
Elders could also take on an apprentice who will work with them and shadows them, being able to assist with the physical side whilst also passing on their skills to new members of staff. This will remove the need for people to see retirement as a cliff edge and allow people the dignity to continue to earn whilst also freeing up jobs for those coming into the job market.
OTHER FORMS OF EMPLOYMENT
The other option is to find other forms of employment for people as they get older, maybe more should start their own enterprises or offer services to others that will help them to pay for their retirement but also keep them physically and mentally active. taking on volunteering work with charities and organisations that will appreciate their help and knowledge could bring a greater sense of satisfaction than simply leaving employment.
WHAT IF I WANT TO RETIRE
If you want to retire, relying on the government pension will cover the bare essentials, but it will not give you two holidays a year or allow you to run a car, therefore you should speak to an IFA who can help you to work out what you will need and how to achieve it. If you work, you should already be in a private pension scheme, if you do not then maybe you should speak to your employer about why not? If you need to make additional savings then the earlier you start the easier it will be to achieve the number you need.
If you own your own business then what is your exit strategy?
