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One in ten over-70s financially support their children

Written by on 3 February, 2010

More than one in ten over-50s want to be promoted rather than downshift, the equality watchdog reports. Contrary to the stereotype often held by employers, the majority of workers over 50 want to continue training in order to be promoted and continue working and earning beyond state pension age.

The report, entitled ‘Working Better – The Over 50s, The New Work Generation’ reveals that many assumptions made about the over 50s, such as their work aspirations and the financial pressure faced are incorrect, based on old fashioned stereotypes rather than modern life.

Produced by the Equality and Human Rights Commission, the report shows that 21% of the over 50s have trained in the last three years in order to improve their job prospects, while only 4% of the age group wish to downshift.

The report comes as the Government plan to review the law on compulsory retirement this year. As the recession pushes younger generations to move back home and depend on their parents, one in ten over 70s now have to financially support their children, proving older workers are under more pressure to earn. This coupled with the current law that employers can dismiss workers who reach retirement age without paying any redundancy pay means the system needs to be re-examined, the Equality and Human Rights Commission argue.

The findings call for the removal of the default retirement age, currently 65. Unlike the stereotype found by the Department for Work and Pensions that older people are less capable than their younger counterparts, the report found that 62% of people questioned feel as strong both physically and mentally as they did in their 20s or 30s – and their reason for working beyond 65 increasingly becomes enjoyment rather than necessity. This raises questions over the compulsory age for retirement and the need for cultural change in order to support today’s older workers.

The report uncovered a key factor that has become a barrier to older people staying in employment; a lack of choice and flexibility. According to the report, 85% of inactive people over the state pension age claim they would have more chance finding jobs if more flexible and part time jobs were available. Rather than the presumed ill health or lacking ability due to age, most feel that it is the structural and cultural situation of working life in the older generations that creates a barrier to them finding work.

Statistics from the report suggest that a more open-minded approach to older workers needs to be upheld by employers in order to update the pension system to a relevant one. With life expectancy increasing evermore and the recession causing high rates of unemployment, older workers need to continue working for longer but are finding it the hardest to get back into jobs after redundancy. The research calls for a less ageist society, pointing to countries such as Australia and Finland for inspiration as initiatives to bring more support to older workers are enforced by governments and social partners.

Recommended by the study was the consideration for incentives to be given to employers in order to facilitate flexibility for all, encompassing both length of hours and place of work, with professionals and well-educated individuals currently having more opportunity to work from home than most. This flexibility may be the key to giving those past the current state pension age their ideal job – a suggestion supported by the finding that 60% of self employed workers over the age of 50 say they are in their ideal job, compared with just 42% of employed workers.

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