Four out of every 10 UK workers say they will have to work more than half a decade (six years) longer than they had originally planned to retire, according to research conducted by employee risks and benefits experts Aon Consulting.
According to Aon's Employee Omnibus Survey, 64% of workers believe the recession will delay their retirement plans, with one in five (19%) of these envisaging having to work a further six to nine years.
Aon points out that an older workforce will have serious knock-on effects for Britain's employers, including increased costs from salaries, training, pensions and other benefits such as health insurance and wellness programmes. However, the non-financial benefits of retaining older employees ,such as retained knowledge and experience, may far outweigh these financial costs.
Richard Strachan, senior consultant at Aon Consulting says: "There has to be a real discussion in this country about the value older workers bring to the economy, and a shift in the thinking that we have to retire at a certain pre-conceived age. Already governments around the world are shifting the retirement age to later in life to reflect increasing levels of longevity, but employers need to match this with a positive attitude to workers older than the current retirement age.
He adds: "As pension savings become more of a hot topic, employers need to ensure, as part of both their ongoing duty of care and an ever increasing focus on plan governance, that they highlight to members how their plans are performing and, perhaps more importantly, why and where they can access up-to-date information.
