More employers, especially SMEs, are being encouraged to offer ‘midlife MOTs’ to help employees aged 50 and over take stock of their wealth, wellbeing and careers.
Work and pensions minister Jo Churchill said that offering employees the chance to reflect on their financial circumstances and the skills they bring to the workforce can help employers understand how they can retain and support workers in this demographic.
The Department for Work and Pensions’ midlife MOT website encourages individuals to think about their work, health and money. Several employers also run their own midlife MOT schemes, and ’50 plus champions’ are being stationed in jobcentres to help individuals find work that suits them.
Speaking on a webinar organised by retirement savings business Phoenix Group, Churchill said: “The [state pension] retirement age is currently 68, so a person at 50 will potentially have 18 years more years [at work] – nearly 40% of their working life.”
Phoenix Group CEO Andy Briggs said midlife MOTs can encourage employees to think about what they would like to do for the rest of their careers and take stock of the transferrable skills they have.
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He said: “The reality is that the vast majority of people have the mindset of ‘I will do what I have done for the past 30 years of my working life’. But at age 50 we have a fantastic and broad range of transferrable skills.”
It comes as research from tech company Multiverse found that around 5.3 million workers over the age of 50 are considering early retirement, with many feeling they do not have the skills employers are currently looking for.
Opportunity for change
Phoenix Group has run its own midlife MOT programme since September and has so far seen people decide to take up university degrees or make lateral moves within the organisation, which the company has supported them with.
Sara Thompson, group HR director, told Personnel Today: “We’ve definitely seen an uptick in people looking for a role that is not necessarily a hierarchical step up, or better paid. People are being more open to what they might want to do internally and we’ve now got options like carer’s leave and our flexible working policy, Phoenix Flex, to support them with that”.
Phoenix Group’s programme includes a digital self-assessment tool and two half-day workshops; one covering where employees are now, and the other focusing on planning for where they want to be.
Behavioural scientists were used to help formulate communications that “nudge” employees towards putting their plans into action.
The workshops are aimed at employees who are within 10 years of their likely retirement age, but the self-assessment tool is open to all.
She said: “The point of this is not to be ageist – I don’t want to turn away somebody in their 30s who wants to do this. I think the sooner you save for your retirement, the better.”
Its workshops revealed that many of Phoenix Group’s employees were looking for a portfolio-type career later in their working life, and many did not want to suddenly stop working at retirement. Thompson said this raised the prospect of an “alumni” scheme, where ex-employees are invited back occasionally to work on projects or to act as mentors or subject-matter experts.
“It’s great because they are thinking about staying with us for longer, rather than thinking they need to retire,” she said.
Debunking myths about over 50s
Briggs said he wanted to challenge some of the myths that employers often have about workers over 50, especially because as the UK population ages, over 50s will inevitably need to account for a larger proportion of the workforce.
They are thinking about staying with us for longer, rather than thinking they need to retire.” – Sara Thompson, Phoenix Group
“A lot of employers would say that if they employ someone who is over 50, they’re unlikely to still be working with [them] in five years’ time. But the facts are if you employ an over 50 they are more likely to be with you in five years time than someone in their 20s,” he claimed.
“Another myth to bust is that an over 50 will take more sick days, but the fact is that someone in their 20s is [more likely] to take a sick day than someone in their 50s.”
Churchill said it was important to start “reframing the language” used about workers in this demographic – many of whom have fallen out of work since the pandemic.
“I recently visited B&Q who are still doing apprenticeships for workers at 64,” she noted. “I think we need to be very careful about putting people in boxes.”
Encouraging more employers to offer midlife MOTs, Churchill acknowledged that such support was often unavailable at smaller organisations, and said more thought needed to go into how their employees could be reached.
However Thompson said it was vital for smaller firms to consider how they can support people at this stage of their careers. “I know it can sound like it’s easy for a big organisation to do, but I have spoken to smaller organisations that have done it, and they say that in a war for talent it can help get people engaged and want to stay with you. It makes really good sense.”
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