The pensions ‘ice age’ has begun, with many of those now approaching retirement realising that their pensions planning will not sustain the lifestyle they had hoped for.
As a result, a quarter of men and 64% of women are planning to work beyond the state pension age, with most of them listing financial necessity as the reason, according to the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC)*.
This newly-emerging group of older but able-bodied people has already been dubbed ‘the welderly’ by politicians.
The percentage of pensions holders still seeking some degree of gainful employment, including part-time work, is likely to be much higher than the figures above. The Commission reports that 85% of those over the state pension age say that greater availability of part-time or flexible jobs would help them come back into the workforce.
Recent trends have shown a gradual erosion of commitment to pensions provision by both the state and the private sector, in particular through the gradual closure of many defined benefit (final salary) company pension schemes.
The report follows on from recent research by the central European statistics agency Eurostat in Brussels, which revealed that a third of pensioners in the UK are officially ‘living in poverty’.
Poverty is defined by Brussels as subsisting on less than 60% of the current national average wage of £316 per week. This implies that the ‘poverty line’ now lies at £190 per week, well above the average £130 provided to an individual with no other income by the Basic State Pension plus pensions credits.
*Report “Older Workers: Employment Preferences, Barriers & Solutions”, EHRC. Survey of 1,494 UK men and women aged 50-75
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