In my grandparents’ day, life expectancy was a lot shorter than nowadays. For most workers, especially those toiling in heavy industry, retirement was largely a pipedream. Most accepted they worked until they dropped.
For my parents’ generation the, admittedly meagre, state pension meant retirement was a possibility. It seemed a simple concept; work and contribute until you are 60 or 65 and receive a pension to support you in retirement. On reaching that milestone, the manager would make a short speech before handing over the inevitable carriage clock or canteen of cutlery, thereby drawing a line under a lengthy working life.
Many received their 65th birthday and “Enjoy Your Retirement” cards on the same day. It was almost a rite of passage; a largely standardised exit from the world of work. That was then and the world has become a more complex place, requiring a different take on the concept and reality of retirement.
Of course, the idea of a standardised retirement has always been a myth. The retired have never been a homogenous group and that will become ever more apparent as the current economic and financial crises bite deeper.
It’s true a sizeable minority of pensioners are leading a life that would make Riley jealous. Some have retired early, enjoy final salary and index-linked pensions and live in houses that have soared in value. The other side of the coin is those who can’t afford to give up work or rely totally on the state and possibly live in rented accommodation.
For the latter, the pertinent question will be “can I ever retire?”, not “when can I retire?” Attitudes to retirement have changed over the past 20 years. In general, the population is healthier, making it possible to extend working life. According to the Office for National Statistics the number of those continuing to work beyond 65 nearly doubled between 2006 and 2016. The trend accelerated after 2011 legislation made it illegal for employers to compulsorily retire workers when they hit 65.
The Prince’s Responsible Business Network clearly approves, its website declaring; “Businesses need to take action to prevent early exit from the workforce, support later life working and make the most of intergenerational workplaces.” Of course, it’s possible the prince in question has mixed views about one member of his family steadfastly refusing to embrace retirement.
In the current uncertain and volatile economic climate, the present concept of retirement may well be past its sell-by date. It’s questionable whether the current model and how it’s paid for, is viable in the medium, let alone long term. Is it realistic/fair to expect a shrinking workforce to support an ever-increasing number of retirees? Raising the pensionable age is already underway, but is that enough to avoid adding a pensions crisis to an already lengthening list?
Former Tory minister David Willetts, author of The Pinch: How Baby Boomers Took Their Children’s Future and Why They Should Give It Back, has suggested the inevitable pensions crisis is not far off. He warns urgent action is required to avoid a return to the poverty in old age experienced by our grandparents.
Willetts and others have identified those currently in their 40s and 50s as being most at risk. Young people have probably accepted they will have to work into their 70s. Forty and fifty-year-olds however, have too few working years left to build large enough funds to provide even a moderately comfortable retirement. For those who never made it onto the property ladder, there will be no mortgage redemption and they will be paying rent into old age. They’re in danger of becoming the generation of no retirement, working until they drop.
It’s time to stop treating the retired as a homogeneous group, irrespective of their circumstances. We need to level up, funded by things like a windfall tax on the unearned huge increases in the values of houses when sold. As David Willetts put it, we need to give some of it back.
I have taken pelters from some baby boomers when suggesting that in the past. Yes, yes, I know many of you are unpaid carers and child-minders and financially support grown-up children and grandchildren. Nevertheless, let’s go down as the selfless, not selfish generation, and step up to the mark to help address what again threatens to be an age-old problem.
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