Mature workers put off retirement

Financial concerns means plans will be shelved, survey suggests
Less than a third of professionals in their fifties will be able to retire at the age they had planned to, as they are weighed down by financial constraints, research has suggested.

Just 29 per cent predict they will be able to retire on their planned date, while the other 71 per cent either say they will not or are doubtful, a survey of over 1000 mature professionals from the publication Mature Times. Most respondents saw 65 as their planned retirement date and almost 60 per cent said they were now willing to work past 65, the survey found.

The findings are particularly illuminating since the default retirement age of 65 was abolished by the government from earlier this month.

Moreover, those over 50 who were out of work are finding it especially tough to get back into the job market. More than half have been out of work for more than 12 months, while 69 per cent say that they are suffering because of the loss of income. More than seven in ten (72 per cent) say they have not made enough pension provision throughout their working life.

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Martin Lloyd-Penny of recruitment firm Matureaccountants.com, which conducted the research, said: “I know at first hand from talking to my candidates on a daily basis how difficult it can be for experienced people who fall off the corporate ladder in their 40s, let alone their 50s. It’s really tough to get back on at the same level and for some to get back on at all. It’s dispiriting to see all that talent going to waste when UK plc is crying out for sound financial management to get it through the recession.”

Jim Boyd, of retirement specialist Partnership, added: “It is becoming apparent that the state will not be able to provide a comfortable cushion for our retirement. With many public-sector workers faced with losing their copper-bottomed pensions, many will have to address the bleak prospect of putting retirement dreams on hold for the simple fact that they cannot afford to stop working.”