Employers not doing enough to support older workers who want to modify work commitments before they fully retire
Businesses do not have enough retirement-friendly policies in place, scuppering people's plans to keep working for longer.
According to a report released today by the Aegon Center for Longevity and Retirement (ACLR) and the Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies (TCRS), more than half (56 per cent) of workers from around the world foresee that they will transition into retirement flexibly, but only a quarter (27 per cent) of those aged 55 and over said that the business they worked for allowed people to shift from full-time to part-time as they approached their later years.
Meanwhile, just nine per cent of those aged 55 and above said that their employer offered retraining opportunities that would help them extend their career.
"A flexible retirement, which offers workers the ability to pursue their own personalised transition, can create opportunities to work longer, continue earning income, and stay active and involved in society," said Catherine Collinson, executive director of ACLR and president of TCRS. "Moreover, a new flexible retirement can create a win-win situation by serving as a powerful tool to help solve the government, social security, and employer-related retirement issues resulting from an ageing population."
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In the UK, employers were more likely to let workers cut their hours as they thought about retiring, with a third of those aged 55 or over saying that this was an option for them. However, the country measures up less flatteringly on learning prospects, with just five per cent saying retraining was available to them.
The study also discovered that people are expecting to stay in work for longer, with more than half (51 per cent) of workers worldwide predicting they would retire at 65 or later.
"As people live longer and in good health, retirement is becoming a more active life stage, with more people looking for the opportunity to combine work and leisure," Collinson continued.
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However, people predicting that they'll still be working in their older years may not be driven purely by ambition and an unyielding work ethic. Figures released earlier this week from HSBC found that 12 per cent of over-45s were worried that they could never afford to retire, up from 10 per cent in 2015.