Inflexible employers are forcing staff to retire early, according to
research.
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 normally do.
Nine out of 10 staff said they would extend their employment if offered
flexible working arrangements, and the same figure believe companies should
tailor work practices and benefits to meet changing needs.
Yet the 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 over the age of 50 said that they intend to retire
before retirement age.
Of those who want to retire early, 77 per cent said they would reconsider
and work into their 70s if they could do so part-time or more flexibly.
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Sam Mercer, campaign director at the EFA, has called on the Government to
make it easier for employers to introduce flexible retirement. "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 which make delivering flexibility for employers difficult," she
said.
