United Kingdom: Survey Finds 72% of Workers Working Past Retirement Age

The proportion of United Kingdom employees who say they will work beyond the age of 65 remains at 72% for the second year running--but significantly higher than in 2016 (67%) and 2015 (61%)--according to the latest research from Canada Life. In addition, the survey finds:

• 47% of UK employees will be older than 70 before they retire, up from 37% in 2017
• Those at the peak of their financial responsibilities aged 35-44 are feeling the squeeze the most, with 27% expecting to retire after their 75th birthday
• 35% believe that older workers will have to learn new skills or retrain to remain employed but 41% think that a mix of older and younger employees creates a wider range of skills to draw on

Paul Avis, Marketing Director of Canada Life Group Insurance, comments:

The combination of an increase in the cost of living, poor returns on savings and inflation continue to impact the UK’s retirement plans. This is the second year in a row that our findings indicate that more than 70% of the country’s workforce expect to work beyond the age of 65, and there is no sign that this trend will slow down any time soon.

But even as an older workforce becomes more common, the stigma surrounding older workers is proving hard to shake. Employers now have the opportunity to capitalise on the skills of two or even three generations, but only if they address potential generational divides and the changing needs of their employees.

Source: Canada Life News Release (June 20, 2018)

Iceland, New Zealand and Israel are Leaders in Boosting Employment Rates among Older Workers: PwC Reports

PwC has released it 2018 Golden Age Index and reports that Iceland, New Zealand and Israel are the leaders in boosting employment rates among older workers. In addition, the report finds that extending people’s working lives to reflect the aging of their populations could release massive untapped value for their economies to the tune of US$3.5 trillion across the OECD as a whole in the long run.

Current employment rates for workers aged 55-64 vary dramatically across the OECD, from 84% in Iceland and 78% in New Zealand to 38% in Greece and 34% in Turkey.

For example, increasing the over-55 employment rate to New Zealand levels could deliver a long-run economic boost worth around US$815 billion in the US, US$406 billion in France and US$123 billion in Japan - with the total potential gain across the OECD adding up to around US$3.5 trillion. This economic uplift would be combined with significant social and health benefits from older people leading more active lives and having higher self-worth through continuing to work where they wish to do so.

John Hawksworth, Chief Economist at PwC UK, comments PwC thinks "older workers should be encouraged and supported to remain in the workforce for longer. This would increase GDP, consumer spending power and tax revenues, while also helping to improve the health and wellbeing of older people by keeping them mentally and physically active." In particular, PwC notes that "[s]uccessful policy measures include increasing the retirement age, supporting flexible working, improving the flexibility of pensions, and providing further training and support help older workers become 'digital adopters.'"

The findings from [PwC's rigorous statistical analysis of the underlying drivers of higher employment rates for older workers across 35 OECD countries] include that financial incentives like pension policy and family benefits can influence people’s decision to stay employed, and that longer life expectancy is associated with longer working lives. The study also shows that flexible working and partial retirement options can pay dividends for employers, as can redesign of factories, offices and roles to meet the changing needs and preferences of older workers.

The Golden Age Index provides additional details for each country evaluated. For example, looking at the United Kingdom, PwC points out that:

• UK ranks 21st out of 35 countries in PwC’s Golden Age Index
• Up to 23% of UK jobs currently held by 55+ workers could be displaced by automation technology in the next decade
• South East of England has highest older worker employment rate in the UK at 75.3% compared to 63.2% in Northern Ireland

Sources: PwC News Release (June 18, 2018); PwC UK News Release (June 18, 2018)

United Kingdom: Growing Pay Gap between Younger and Older Workers

The Trades Union Congress has released a report finding that, in the United Kingdom, the "generational pay gap"--the gap between the average earnings of 21-30 year-olds and 31-64 year-olds working an average 40-hour week--has increased in real terms from £3,140 in 1998 to £5,884 in 2017. In "Stuck at the start: Young workers' impressions of pay and progression," the TUC finds that

1. young workers are disproportionately affected by wage stagnation
2. young workers are concentrated in low-paying jobs
3. young workers do not have access to the skills development to get on at work
4. young workers are especially vulnerable to insecure work
5. young workers have no voice at work

The report also found that the overrepresentation of today’s young workers in certain industries has worsened the generational pay gap: "Jobs growth has been generally slower for younger workers than for older workers in the past two decades, but the growth that has taken place has been heavily concentrated in five industries: education; health and social care; hotels and hospitality; real estate, renting and business activities; and wholesale and retail."

Beyond raising the minimum wage, the TUC recommends that the government, among other things, (1) develop a strategy to improve wages, productivity, skills development and conditions in low-paid industries, by setting up modern wages councils that can require employers to act; and (2) give all workers, including young workers, the right to time off for training. It also recommends that employers "create genuinely flexible, well-paid, part-time work at all levels of an organisation, particularly for supervisory and managerial roles, so that parents do not have to give up spending quality time with family just to make ends meet."

Source: Trades Union Congress Press Release (June 4, 2018)

United Kingdom: Prime Minister Includes Aging Workforce among "Grand Challenges" Facing UK

In a speech on science and modern industrial strategy at Jodrell Bank, Prime Minister May spoke about the aging workforce as one of the "grand challenges" facing the United Kingdom, each leading to a mission outlined as part of the government's "Industrial Strategy." As May said, "We know that our society here in the UK, and in other developed countries around the world, is getting older – creating new demands and opportunities," and "through our healthy ageing grand challenge, we will ensure that people can enjoy five extra healthy, independent years of life by 2035, whilst narrowing the gap between the experience of the richest and poorest."

Specifically, with respect to employment, May said: "Employers can help, by meeting the needs of people who have caring responsibilities and by doing more to support older people to contribute in the workplace--and enjoy the emotional and physical benefits of having a job if they want one." However, the policy paper issued at the same time as her speech provides no additional details of how the :mission will help support people to remain at work for longer."

In an article on her speech, Miriam Kenner reports:

Anna Dixon, chief executive of the Centre for Ageing Better, welcomed May’s “commitment to increasing people’s quality of life in older age”, and reducing the “scandalous gap in healthy life expectancy between the richest and poorest in our society”.

"As we live longer, we also need to work for longer,” she added. “All employers need to adopt age-inclusive practices.

“Too many older workers are leaving the labour market prematurely at great cost to them personally, as well as the state.”

Source: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development "Prime minister calls on employers to do more to support ageing workforce" (May 21, 2018)

United Kingdom: Research Suggests Higher Proportion of Older Workers Can Lower Overall Productivity

A research paper finds that, in the United Kingdom, the higher the proportion of over 50s in the workforce in a local authority area, the lower the overall level of productivity. In "Does ageing matter when it comes to workforce productivity?," the International Longevity Centre–UK suggests that this "may be because work suffers from diminishing returns: that for every additional year worked, there is a relatively smaller gain in output."

The paper also argues that whilst rising life expectancy and other factors might raise the age at which productivity peaks, the broad shape of a worker’s lifetime productivity curve is likely to remain, so that a higher share of older workers will likely drag down overall levels of productivity.

According to Ben Franklin, the Centre's Assistant Director of Research and Policy:

With reference to English Local Authority data, this report provides support to both prevailing conclusions in the economic literature regarding the impacts of ageing on productivity. An older workforce may be a drag on output, but an ageing population could raise the rate of productivity growth.

In any case, investment in education and health are likely to remain critical drivers of long run productivity. Both are strongly correlated with the productivity performance of local authorities in our analysis, and focusing on the health and education of the workforce, irrespective of age, is therefore likely to support higher levels of economic output.

Source: International Longevity Centre–UK Press Release (May 11, 2018)

UK Report Finds that Employers Provide Inadequate Support for Older Workers with Health Conditions

The United Kingdom's Centre for Ageing Better has issued a research report showing that employers are not properly supporting older workers experiencing long-term physical and mental health conditions. According to "Health warning for employers: Supporting older workers with health conditions," older workers are more likely than younger workers to be managing multiple long-term conditions, and health conditions are the main driver of older workers exiting the labor market before they reach state pension age.

In addition, the report found that disclosing a health condition to one's employer is a stressful and repeated process. Poor workplace culture and overly bureaucratic procedures result in many people putting off health-related conversations with their employer until absolutely necessary.

The report was written by Jemma Mouland, Senior Programme Manager, based on research conducted for the Centre for Ageing Better by YouGov and Mustard Research.

Among other things, the report recommends that employers should:

- Normalise conversations around health at work and create a supportive, empathetic and
open culture around managing health conditions at work.
- Ensure full and equal access to support for health at work, including flexible working
and workplace adjustments for all employees. These adjustments are often small and
inexpensive and employers should provide them proactively and consistently.
- Ensure adjustments and support are sustained.

Source: Centre for Ageing Better News Release (April 26, 2018)

Research Finds Lack of Employer Support for Older Employees and Problem Drinking

According to a study conducted by the International Longevity Centre-UK (ILC-UK), older adults in employment and facing retirement are being let down by employers when it comes to problem drinking. "Easing the transition: The relationship between alcohol and labour market activity in the over 50s population of the UK" sets out the specific barriers and challenges faced by over 50s with current or previous drinking problems at three stages of labour market activity: unemployment, employment and retirement.

Among other things, the report finds that it is older ages (60-69) of the professional occupational class that are most likely to be high risk drinkers. While only 6% under the age of 30 drink heavily, nearly 25% of those aged 60-69 drink heavily. In addition, the report concludes that there is a "blind spot" in support from employers and the state in preparing for retirement which falls short of emotional, health and social changes. "For those over 50s still employed stress, boredom, lack of control over work and retirement worries all contribute to drinking more."

The authors call for employers to introduce measures to assist employees over 50 who might be struggling with an alcohol problem, such as counseling and effective workplace policies that treat alcohol issues like any other health issue. In addition, the report calls for greater engagement from employers to staff pre- and post-retirement. This includes social clubs and guidance on how to avoid alcohol becoming a problem once working life is over.

Source: International Longevity Centre-UK Press Release (December 12, 2016)

Report Calls for Workplace Innovation To Stem Early Retirements

Following a three year study--led by Nottingham Trent University with Workplace Innovation Limited (see WORKKAGE website)--aimed at preventing the loss of vital knowledge, skills and experience of increasingly aging workforces, an interim report recommends that measures be taken by employers to ensure older workers don’t become demotivated and head into early retirement. Specifically, in "Active working lives through workplace innovation practices" "WORKAGE aims to demonstrate that targeted workplace interventions to improve job design and work organization can facilitate enhanced engagement and retention of older workers and produce wider benefits for the organization and its employees."

Among other things, the report calls for innovate workplace practices:

• The interplay between workplace practices and participative process is central for workplace innovation and its dual aim of promoting productivity and quality of working life;
• WORKAGE developed interventions around four elements of innovative practices: jobs and teams; organizational structures, management and procedures; employee-driven improvement and innovation; and co-created leadership and employee voice;
• the report's conceptual framework is that experienced quality of job and workplace practices will increase three critical states (work engagement, workability, and occupational outlook), which will, in turn, influence intentions to retire.
• Especially important for improved work engagement and in turn retirement intentions are: (1) practices that are supportive of co-created leadership and employee voice, (2) practices that are supportive of quality jobs and teams, (3) higher job control, and (4) reduced physical job demands.

Source: Nottingham Trent University Press Release (November 28, 2016)

United Kingdom: Prince Charles's Group Issues Report on Older Workers and Unemployment

In the United Kingdom, the Prince’s Initiative for Mature Enterprise (PRIME) and Business In The Community, which are looking at unemployment among the over 50's, have, with the International Longevity Centre, released the first of three reports looking at the economic barriers facing the over 50s. "The missing million: illuminating the employment challenges of the over 50s" reports that, of the 3.3 million economically inactive people aged 50-64, approximately 1 million people have been made "involuntarily workless" (pushed out of their previous job as a result of "shocks," a combination of redundancy, ill health or early retirement), which has created a group of millions of over 50s are not working but would like to and are not receiving the help they need.

In addition, the report finds that helping people aged over 50 are helped back into employment does not mean that younger people are crowded out of the labor market, but rather could lead to a potential £88 billion boost to the UK GDP.

Two further reports are expected to be published following this paper on employment solutions and benefits of maintaining an older workforce.

Sources: International Longevity Centre Press Release (October 23, 2014); PRIIME News Release (October 23, 2014)

United Kingdom: Survey Finds Gen Y Employees with Negative Attitude Toward Older Workers, Flextime

According to research conducted for the United Kingdom law firm Doyle Clayton, Generation Y employees have the most negative attitudes towards older employees and part-time and flexible workers. In addition, "Age Before Beauty? The Challenges Facing Britain's Managers in Overcoming Age and Gender Discrimination in the Workplace" reports that, according to their employees, micro businesses are Britain’s least discriminatory workplaces, and mid-sized businesses are where you are most likely to experience discrimination at work.

Among the key findings from "Age Before Beauty?" are:

• in micro businesses (1-9 employees), 96% of employees feel that age discrimination has never been an issue;
• in medium sized (50 – 249) and larger businesses, over 20% of employees had witnessed discrimination on grounds of age, whereas in micro businesses virtually no employee interviewed had witnessed it;
• 20% of employees at medium sized and large businesses view colleagues who work flexibly as less committed, whereas employees at micro businesses were consistently more positive; and
• Generation Y have the most discriminatory attitude toward flexible working and older workers, with 27.4% of those aged 25 to 34 seeing fellow employee working part-time as less committed, 31.1% seeing those working from home two or more days a week as less committed, and 18.3% (more than twice any other age group) seeing workers over 60 as less valuable.

Source: Doyle Clayton News (September 2, 2014)

United Kingdom: Government Appoints Business Champion for Older Workers

Dr. Ros Altmann CBE has been appointed by the United Kingdom government as its new Business Champion for Older Workers. A former director-general of Saga and independent expert on later life issues, Dr. Altmann is tasked with making the case for older workers within the business community and challenging outdated perceptions. Her appointment follows the government’s publication of "Fuller Working Lives – A Framework For Action," which set out the benefits to individuals, business and the economy as a whole of people aged over 50 staying in work.

In making the appointment, Minister of Work and Pensions Steve Webb MP, said that he "wanted a powerful voice; someone respected amongst the business community, with a track record of speaking up for consumer rights without fear or favour. In Dr Ros Altmann that’s exactly what we have." Dr. Altmann said:

I am really proud to be taking on this new role and look forward to championing over 50s in the workplace. This fast-growing section of society has so much experience and talent to offer and could play a vital role in future growth. Everyone can benefit from ensuring their skills do not go to waste. I also look forward to challenging some of the outdated and downright inaccurate perceptions of later life workers who still have so much to offer.

Source: United Kingdom Department of Work and Pensions Press Release (July 14, 2014)

United Kingdom: Pension Minister Launches Action Plan To Help Older Workers Stay in the Workplace

The United Kingdom's Department for Work and Pensions and Pensions Minister Steve Webb has announced that the government will launch of a new action plan to support the economy, workers, and businesses, but stressed that British business must realize the potential of older workers and help people to stay in the workplace. Detailed in "Fuller Working Lives—a framework for action," the new measures include:

• extending the right to request flexible working to all employees in June 2014;
  
• the appointment of a new Older Workers’ Employment Champion—a respected and independent-minded figure who will advocate the case for older workers within the business community and wider society; and
  
• the launch of a new Health and Work Service which will give workers with long-term health problems the support they need to stay in or return to work.

According to the announcement, while the employment rate for 55 to 64 year olds is around 60% and growing, the recent improvement has been relatively modest compared to many other nations, and several countries achieve employment rates of around 70% or above. Among other things, Webb said:

• "Older workers have a huge amount to bring to any workforce and are a vast untapped talent."
  
• "We are living longer and can expect many more years of healthy life. It’s great news – but it’s something that as a society and as an economy we need to respond to."
  
• 'As part of building a fairer society, I am determined that we boost our support for older workers and help employers challenge outdated perceptions to see the real strengths of this important section of the workforce."
  

Source: Department for Work and Pensions and Steve Webb MP Press Release (June 13, 2014)

Other Sources: Daily Mail "Flexible hours push to help the over-50s stay in work: Pensions Minister says older generation are 'vast untapped talent'" (June 13, 2014)

Survey: Workers More Optimistic about Retirement, but More Contemplating Phased Retirement

The Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies® has released the results of its annual retirement survey, which found increased optimism among workers around the world about improvements in their local economies, but also noted that many workers envision some kind of phased transition into retirement. According to "The Changing Face of Retirement—The Aegon Retirement Readiness Survey (2014)," just 32% of workers surveyed plan to immediately stop working and fully retire. In the United States, this number is just 24%, while in European nations, which which have histories of compulsory retirement, workers are more likely to plan to stop immediately: for example, , 52% in Spain and 51% in France.

Employment and government policy reforms are needed to facilitate this new approach to retirement, yet change is not catching up with worker demand: only 23 percent of workers say their employers facilitate transitioning from full-time to part-time. Even fewer U.S. workers (21 percent) indicate their workplace policies accommodate the transition. In many cases, change in labor and pension laws, as well as a change in cultural norms, are needed to facilitate implementation of a phased retirement program.

The Aegon Retirement Readiness Survey 2014 is a collaboration between the Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies and Aegon. The survey encompasses 16,000 employees and retirees in 15 countries, with separate country reports available for each of them: Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Japan, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States. These countries were selected on the basis of their distinctive pension systems, as well as their varying demographic and aging trends.

Source: Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies® News Release (May 29, 2014)

Northern Ireland: Commissioner for Older People Urges Government and Employers To Increase Older Workers Participation in the Workforce

The Commissioner for Older People for Northern Ireland has released a report that shows that the economy in Northern Ireland could be increased by £2.3billion by 2037 if the number of older people in the workforce increases. According to "Valuing an Ageing Workforce," which was produced in conjunction with the International Longevity Centre-UK, the government and employers should introduce ways to enable older people to remain in the workforce for as long as they wish to. The Commissioner, Claire Keatinge, says:

"This shows that older workers can be more effective than their younger colleagues and make a positive contribution in the workplace, despite widely held misconceptions that somehow productivity and output diminish with age.

"Many people will want to stay in work, for a variety of reasons, such as the removal of the previous Default Retirement Age, increase in life expectancy, and for personal fulfillment; and some will stay in work because they need to for financial reasons.

"It is essential that appropriate supports are put in place so as to enable older workers to continue to be able to play a positive role in the workforce."

Among the findings reported by the Commissioner and highlighted in a briefing note to the report are:

1. Employers would benefit from valuing the positive role that older people play in the workplace.
2. Employment rates for older people in Northern Ireland have increased since the financial crisis in 2008 and there is a strong economic case for working beyond 65.
3. There are still a range of barriers which prevent people working longer, including ageist attitudes, health, caring responsibilities, skills and training opportunities, as well as the fact that ‘cliff-edge’ retirement is still a common occurrence here.
4. Initiatives should be introduced by the Northern Ireland
   Executive and employers to support people to work longer, should they wish to do so.
5. Older people in Northern Ireland should have the right to remain in work as well as the right to retire, and they should be supported in either scenario.
   

Source: Commissioner for Older People for Northern Ireland News Release (March 25, 2014)

AgeUK Literature Review Finds Someone’s Age Bears No Relation to Worker's Ability To Do Most Jobs

A literature review conducted by AgeUK reports that someone's age bears no relation to their ability or capability to perform the vast majority of jobs. Thus, AgeUK recommends that employers reconsider their existing workforce and HR strategies, and develop more effective retirement policies that place the wellbeing of their older employees at the heart of the process.

In its review, AgeUK finds, among other things that:

• The evidence shows either a lack of relationship between productivity and age, or that older workers are at least as productive as their younger colleagues. Even in physically
  demanding situations, for example on a factory production line, age is no barrier to working productively.
• Measuring individual productivity is challenging for researchers. Older studies, which often suggest older workers are less productive, frequently rely on outdated assumptions about aging and health, or fail to account for a myriad of other factors. More recent studies, which often find older workers are at least as productive as younger workers, are better able to account for these.
• As people age some cognitive and physical abilities do change—however, this does not
  make older workers better or worse than younger colleagues. There is no evidence of a substantive decline in ability in most people until well past the end of a typical working life. Aging affects everyone differently, and it is not possible to make predictions about any one individual’s capability.
• The interaction between skills, knowledge and experience means that many tasks can in fact be performed better as people age, and raises challenges for employers about how best to utilize individuals’ skills and abilities.
• Recognizing the challenges faced by older workers and offering solutions to mitigate them, for example flexible working to help people meet caring responsibilities, can help enhance individual productivity.

Source: AgeUK "Productivity and Age" (March 2014)

United Kingdom: TUC Report Finds Women Over 50 Face Rigid Workplace

Following an investigation by the Trade Union Congress (TUC) into issues facing women over 50 at work, the TUC finds that a rigid workplace culture is making it difficult for older women to balance their careers with caring responsibilities, leading to decades of low pay at the end of their working lives and poverty in retirement. According to "Age Immaterial: Women over 50 in the Workplace," while a record number of older women are in work, many are trapped in low-paid jobs and are struggling to balance caring responsibilities with work. Among other things, the report finds that:

• the gender pay gap for women over 50 working full-time is twice as high as it is for younger women, with nearly half of women over 50 being in part-time work, where the average annual wage is under £10,000 a year.;
• 49% care for at least one of their own parents, while 39% are caring for their own children. In addition, 21% look after their grandchildren, while 13% also care for another elderly relative, and 9% care for a disabled husband, wife or partner; and
• with the majority of women aged 50-64 employed in public administration, education and health, the threat of redundancy is a major concern, especially as the public sector is set to lose 1.1 million jobs by 2018-19.

The TUC report calls on employers to have a more enlightened attitude to these caring responsibilities. Among other things, the report calls for the introduction of several new rights, including (1) five to ten days of paid carers’ leave per year; (2) unpaid leave entitlement, similar to parental leave, specifically for grandparents, and (3) statutory adjustment leave for sudden changes to caring responsibilities and crisis situations.

Source: Trade Union Congress Media Release (February 27, 2014)

United Kingdom: Study Calls for Upping Retirement Age, Saying Pension System Creates Incentives for Early Retirement

A report issued by the Institute of Economic Affairs says that recent United Kingdom government commitments to continue to increase state pension expenditure in real terms are both unaffordable and irresponsible, and that the government must accelerate the introduction of a later retirement age and urgently reform labor market regulations to enable people to work longer.

According to "Income from Work—The Fourth Pillar of Income Provision in Old Age" by Gabriel Sahlgren, the current state pension system is "incentivising" early retirement, and that employment protection legislation raises unemployment at older ages, including before state pension age. Furthermore, later retirement benefits the individual through improved health and higher incomes, and benefits taxpayers by reducing the costs of ageing populations.

The report makes ten recommendations to "ease the state pension time bomb," including:

• accelerating the rise in retirement age, suggesting that, from November 2018, the state pension age for men and women should increase by two months every quarter, which would get the pension age to 68 by January 2023;
  
• linking retirement with life expectancy from January 2023;
  
• exempting older workers from employment protection legislation, which would encourage employers to take on older workers and also enable greater labor mobility and flexible working patterns; and
  
• introducing a pilot scheme to exempt older workers from age discrimination laws.

Source: Institute of Economic Affairs Press Release (January 8, 2014)

Reaction: "Actuaries Buck Consultants have disagreed with the ‘dramatic’ rise in state pension age proposed by the Institute of Economic Affairs, saying changes must be balanced to protect those close to retirement." See The Actuary (January 14, 2014)

Brookings Issues Report on Retirement Trends in 20 Industrialized Countries: Recession Accelerating Delayed Retirements

A report from the Brookings Institution finds that since Great Recession, the trend toward later retirement in industrialized countries has not only continued, but has accelerated. According to "Impact of the Great Recession on Retirement Trends in Industrialized Countries," by Gary Burtless and Barry Bosworth, when the recession began most rich countries were experiencing an increase in labor force participation rates after age 60. In their paper, they examined whether the downturn slowed or reversed the trend toward higher old-age participation rates, using straightforward time series analysis to test for a break in labor force trends after 2007.

Averaging across all 20 countries in our sample, the pace of labor force participation gains has accelerated since the onset of the Great Recession. As noted, the participation rate of 60-64 year-olds increased at an average rate of 0.4 percentage points a year between 1989 and 2007. Between 2007 and 2012 the participation rate in this age group increased an average of 1.5 percentage points a year. In 12 of the 20 countries, the increase in the trend rate of participation change was statistically significant. The participation rate of 65-69 year-olds increased at an average rate of 0.1 percentage points a year between 1989 and 2007. Since 2007 the participation rate in this age group has increased an average of 0.8 percentage points a year across the sample countries. In 13 of the 20 countries, the rise in the trend rate of participation gain was statistically significant. In the oldest age group, 70-74 year-olds, the trend rate of increase in participation rose from 0.05 percentage points a year between 1989 and 2007 to 0.32 percentage points a year after 2007. In 12 of the 19 sample countries the increase in the pace of participation gain among 70-74 year-olds was statistically significant.

While countries that experienced unusually severe downturns, including Ireland and much of southern Europe, represent exceptions to this generalization, the authors conclude that, on the whole, however, the trend toward later retirement in rich countries has not been reversed as a result of the Great Recession.

According to Robert Samuelson, this study suggests that the "We may be witnessing the last gasp of early retirement" and not just in the United States.

Source: Brookings Institution Paper (December 16, 2013)

United Kingdom: Survey Finds Older Workers Embracing New Careers, Entrepreneurship

A survey sponsored by Scottish Widows has found that 49% of the United Kingdom’s retirees are sparking a retirement revolution by transforming the end of their working lives, with almost one in 10 (8%) choosing to change careers and one in 20 starting their own business. In addition, the survey reports that 30% of working Britons planning to reinvent their careers when they retire, either by starting a new career, setting up a new business, or becoming a consultant.

With respect to retirement expectations, while 71% of retirees surveyed retired around or earlier than the age they expected, 54% of workers over 50 say they will retire later than they initially expected when starting out their career, with 21% believing that they will retire over the age of 70.

According to Wendy Loretto, Professor of Organisational Behaviour, University of Edinburgh Business School, who worked with Scottish Widows on the study: "As our society adapts to an ageing population, the way we perceive and plan for retirement has had to evolve. The reality is that we are not all able to stop working at 65, and this is likely to become even later in the future. With this in mind, people are adopting a new attitude towards this life stage and are starting to view working later in life as a positive opportunity rather than a burden."

Source: Scottish Widows News Release (December 10, 2013)

United Kingdom: Government Announces Acceleration in Increase of Pension Age

In his Autumn 2013 speech to Parliament, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced, among other things, that the state pension age must continue to track life expectancy. While exact dates are to be determined, increases to pension ages of 68 and 69 would be accelerated. The full statement from the speech follows:

But we also have to guarantee that the basic state pension is affordable in the future, even as people live longer and our society grows older.

The only way to do that is to ensure the pension age keeps track with life expectancy.

The Pensions Bill, currently going through Parliament, puts in place reviews of the pension age every five years.

Now we set the principle that will underpin those reviews.

We think a fair principle is that, as now, people should expect to spend up to a third of their adult life in retirement.

Based on latest life expectancy figures, applying that principle would mean an increase in the state pension age to 68 in the mid 2030s and to 69 in the late 2040s.

The exact dates will be set by the future statutory reviews and in line with the most up to date demographic data, of which the next update is published next week.

A Background Note from the Department of Work and Pensions on the principles underlying this approach states that the United Kingdom "has decided to use the age of 20 as the appropriate starting age for the purpose of calculating the proportion of adult life spent in receipt" of a state pension, and that the government is currently legislating for a review of the pension age to take place once in every Parliament.

Sources: Gov.UK "Chancellor George Osborne's Autumn Statement 2013 speech" (December 5, 2013); Department of Work and Pensions Background Note (December 5, 2013)