A report generated by the government and published to the House of Commons library, looked into the attitudes of the over 50s, their working lives and thoughts about retirement. Whilst it found some rather obvious points it also raised some interesting points (source). Don’t forget that since this report was generated (the last one), the retirement age as of 2020 is 66 for men and women and then 67 by 2028.

By far the leading reason for not retiring was ‘needing’ to earn money (31 per cent). Following this, ‘I think I’m too young to stop’ was the second most common response (13 per cent), while ‘I enjoy the work I do’ was third (9 per cent).

The proportion of respondents who claimed the dominant reason for not being retired was enjoyment of work increased significantly with age; 5 per cent among those in their 50s, 15 per cent among those in their 60s and rising to 33 per cent of those aged 70 plus.

Here are some more interesting thoughts from those not retired yet but thinking about the future.

 

• The average age at which respondents thought they would stop working and retire was 65.2 (for men and women). At the time, the retirement age was 65.
• Fifty six per cent said that they now expect to retire later than planned.
• Thirty nine per cent of respondents not currently retired said that working part time or flexible hours before stopping work altogether would be the best way to retire.
• Seventeen per cent preferred a less demanding job before retiring altogether, while the same proportion said working full time and then stopping work altogether would be the best way to retire.
• Fifteen per cent of respondents not currently retired and under 60 years old would like to stop work altogether and retire between the ages of 60 and 65 while 74 per cent would like to be in work still (either full time or part time).
• Forty per cent of those not currently retired and under 65 years old would like to be retired between the ages of 65 and 70, while 48 per cent would like to still be in work either full time or part time.
• About a third of those currently not retired said they had some interest in moving to self-employment (33 per cent) or starting a new career (36 per cent).

 

Of these that had retired, there was some experience and advice for those thinking about it. Forty six per cent of those who had retired said that they had retired earlier than planned, 44 per cent said that they had retired at the age they planned, and 11 per cent said they had retired later than planned.

 

• More than one in five (22 per cent) of those who had retired miss work and just under a quarter (23 per cent) wished they had worked longer before retiring.
• Thirty nine per cent of people who had retired said that they ‘don’t miss anything’ about work but 38 per cent said that they ‘miss the social interaction’, and 27 per cent said they ‘miss the income’.
• Thirty six per cent of people who had retired said that they would advise someone who was thinking about stopping work altogether and retiring to ‘consider switching to flexible or part time work for a period first’, 20 per cent said ‘If you can, take a break from work and then make a decision’, while 32 per cent said they would advise retirement.

 

What all of this says is that when you reach mid life, you have to start thinking about the future. If possible, make plans in case of the unexpected and if not, keep learning new skills to make you more indispensable or more attractive to other employers.

Don’t forget that more than half of people now think they will retire later than planned and almost as many were expecting to be working part-time – mainly to supplement incomes.