Ready for retirement?

Growth in older people working stalls in the pandemic

EMPLOYMENT levels among those in their 50s and 60s dropped for the first time in a decade at the height of the pandemic.

The employment rate for 50 to 64-year-olds was 72.7% in April to June 2020, according to figures from the Department for Work and Pensions.

That was down from 72.8% in January to March, although it was up from 72.5% in the same period in 2019.

This rate has been increasing steadily since the mid-1990s, when it stood at 57.2% in 1995.

Business in the Community’s Age campaign has been working hard with businesses to get one million more older workers into employment by 2022. But the new figures raised concerns about hitting that target.

Andy Briggs, chair of the Age Leadership Team at the charity set up by the Prince of Wales 40 years ago to champion responsible business, said: “The chilling truth is that this trend has already gone into reverse.

“Although the decline in employment between Q1 and Q2 of this year is slight, it is a worrying sign of the full economic impact to come for those over 50.

“Without proper support given to those at the beginning and end of their employment lifecycles we risk losing all the progress that’s been made to date. This is because we expect employment numbers for the young and old to be severely impacted by job cuts and the ending of the furlough scheme.

“The over 50s in particular are most likely to struggle to find employment once out of work so it’s important we protect this age group, otherwise they could face a lifetime of poverty in their later years.”

While people aged between 50 and 64 were most likely to leave their last job due to retirement in April to June 2020 (38%), health reasons (20%) and dismissal or redundancy (15%) were also common reasons.

The average age at which people leave their last job also dipped slightly in April to June 2020.

For men, the average age was 65.2 years old, down from 65.3 years in 2019, while it fell from 64.3 to 64.2 for women.

However, this is still a rise from previous years.

In 1950, the average age for men to leave the labour market was 67.2 years old. It then fell until it reached a low of 63 years in 1996, before it started to rise again.

For women, the average age of exit in 1950 was 63.9 years old. It fell and reached its lowest point in 1986 at 60.3 years old.