An
Employers Forum on Age survey, Generation Flex – Current Attitudes to the
Retirement Debate, shows that rigid HR retirement policies are making staff
leave work earlier than they might choose to.
Nine
out of 10 employees said they would extend their employment if the company
offered flexible working arrangements and the same figure believe companies
should tailor working arrangements and benefits to meet changing needs.
Yet
research shows less than a third of employers are identifying the needs of
employees at different stages of their working lives and only a third are
addressing the needs of different age groups in the workplace.
Six
out of 10 staff aged over 50 said that they intend to retire before retirement
age as did half of staff under 50.
Of
those staff that want to retire early 77 per cent said that they would
reconsider and work into their seventies they could do so part-time or more
flexibly.
Sam
Mercer, campaign director at the EFA, has called on the Government to make it
easier for employers to introduce flexible retirement:
“The
recent development of flexible retirement policies is a great example of
employers beginning to develop age-smart policies," she said.
“The
Government has acknowledged that more flexibility is the solution to the
impending pensions crisis, but it needs to act now to change Inland Revenue
rules that make delivering flexibility for employers difficult.”
Senior
managers from 190 organisations along with nearly 300 employees were polled.
