People
who carry on working beyond State Pension Age (SPA) appear to be healthier,
wealthier and happier.
Working
after State Pension Age: Quantitative Analysis, published by the Department for
Work and Pensions, finds that 76 per cent of men and 71 per cent of women who
work beyond State Pension Age describe their health as either ‘excellent’ or
‘very good’, compared with only 50 per cent of non-workers.
The
report also finds that those who continue to work after SPA are better off
financially, with much higher percentages of workers than non-workers reporting
they were living comfortably and saving money.
But
working beyond retirement age is much more common among those who are still
working when they reach SPA, which suggests it is difficult for older workers
who leave the labour market to re-enter it.
Other
findings include:
•
Older workers report relatively high levels of job satisfaction and have a
strong attachment to work.
•
The decision to continue to work beyond SPA may be influenced by a variety of
factors. For some, it is linked to particular household circumstances, for
example, a desire to retire at the same time as their partner. Another
important incentive is maintaining or even improving living standards.
•
Many employees who continue to work after SPA had changed their working hours,
either by reducing them or moving to part-time work, with the majority
remaining in the same job.
•
Those who changed employer were likely move from full-time to part-time work,
suggesting that the move could be due to a desire for flexible or part-time
working options that were not made available by the previous employer.
•
A high proportion of those continuing to work are self-employed, although this
seemed to reflect later retirement among the self-employed rather than any
significant shift from employment to self-employment in this age group.
The
publication of the research highlights the importance the Government places on
identifying and overcoming barriers to older people’s participation in the labour
market and on tackling age discrimination.
The
research is based on secondary analysis of three large national surveys, the
Labour Force Survey, the Family Resources Survey and the British Household
Panel Study.
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