The Department for Work & Pensions (DWP) has published a report showing that, over the past year, older people have been exiting the workforce earlier and that the employment rate of people aged 50-64 has also fallen slightly.
Some people are worried that older people "are seen by certain employers as ante-diluvian rather than digitally native".
Suzanne Noble, Co-Director at Startup School for Seniors, commented: "Have older people been exiting the workforce earlier over the past year because they've wanted to, to make the most of life after the experiences of the pandemic, or because they are being pushed?
“As the founder of an organisation that helps people aged 50+ start a business, we hear first-hand the stories of people who increasingly feel out of place in the post-pandemic workplace. They are seen by certain employers as ante-diluvian rather than digitally native and that's a dangerous development.
“People are living longer and need to work longer to stay afloat financially and so it's no surprise we are seeing many more people in their fifties become entrepreneurs."
Chartered Financial Planner / Owner at The Orchard Practice, Joshua Gerstler, added: "Historically, and as bleak as it sounds, people retired at 60 or 65 and died within a few years.
“As people are now living longer and healthier lives they do not want to spent 20-30 years on the sofa watching Countdown. It is therefore very important to keep yourself busy, as once the mind is not being challenged, it can start to go downhill, and the body quickly follows suit.
“People are now working longer so that they have a purpose, and so that they can build up enough funds for a comfortable retirement. Someone once said, “You need enough money to be able to sleep at night, and enough of a purpose to get up again in the morning".
“That feels about right to me and goes some way to explain the changing demographic of workforces today."
