Don’t work yourself into the ground

While employment in our later years can have positive impacts on self-esteem and overall health, we should not have to work until we drop.

A UK study, issued by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), found the last 20 years have seen a significant increase in the number of over-50s and people over retirement age in employment.

Analysis showed the job market has changed significantly since 1992. About 57% of people aged between 50 and 64 were employed in April 1992, but this rose to 65% by December last year.

This is said to be a significant increase for retirement age workers in the UK, who now make up a bigger share of the total working population.

The report also revealed young people had become less likely to be in employment over the same period, largely due to the expansion of education opportunities, but also because young people have been hit hard by the recession.

In April 1992, 49% of 16 and 17-year-olds were in employment, but that figure dropped to 23.6% by December last year.

The proportion of ‘prime age’ workers (those aged 25 to 49) remained steady, despite the recession.

Trades Union Congress general secretary, Brendan Barber, said older people bring a wealth of skills and experience to the workplace.

For many people, working past the state retirement age is essential, as they have not built up enough savings to be able to retire.

“The increasing number of over-65s in work shows that older workers are highly valued and that the government is absolutely right to scrap the default retirement age,” Mr Barber said.

However there is a darker side to people working beyond their retirement, Mr Barber said.

“Low wages and poor pension provision, particularly in the private sector, mean that many people simply cannot afford to retire at 65. The failure of far too many employers to help staff save for their retirement is forcing these people into pensioner poverty and placing a huge cost burden on the state,” he said.

Described by Mr Barber as a “mistake”, he said it was wrong to blame older workers for youth unemployment.

“The main reason for the young people’s jobs crisis is that there just aren’t enough new jobs being created that are appropriate for young people to do; and of course the more people we have in work overall, the more the economy grows and the more jobs are created,” he said.

As the average lifespan continues to grow, working longer is becoming part of a person’s “way of thinking”.