The latest Labour Force Survey provided by the ONS has revealed that there has been a significant increase in the numbers of people in their late 40s to early 60s living on their own ( and increase of a third in a decade). A number of reasons are given for this. One is that this may just be the baby boom of earlier years working its way through the population, another to do with the increase in the break-up of relationships.
A survey a few years ago also showed that there was an increase in the concept of "living apart together" where two people with some life experience behind them opted to be in an established relationship but did not actually commit to living togteher.
The BBC Radio 4 programme raised the issue that as these people get into their older ages then they may become more socially excluded and more vulnerable. While they may be relatively well-off financially compared to other younger generations, their "social wealth" could be severely impacted. It will be interesting to see whether single people chose to continue working for longer because they need and appreciate the social contact which work can provide. Whether employers can use the "social wealth" angle to attract and retain talent of all ages only remains to be seen.?
Friday, 15 April 2011
Wednesday, 6 April 2011
The day of more opportunities for older workers
Today, April 6th 2011, the default retirement age of 65 is abolished and older workers can continue working for as long as they need provided their performance continues to be effective.
It is therefore more important than ever before that older workers, say anyone over the age of 50, grasp the opportunities for training, on-going learning and development to keep skills up-to-date and to learn new ones so as to take advantage of workplace opportunities. A spokes person from the CIPD has stated that older workers are the group most likely to deselect themselves for training opportunties for a variety of reasons and it is therefore important for employers to have "more targeted engagement, encouraging older workers to engage in these opportunities or providing training which is more adapted to older workers' needs".
Living longer is having a profound and increasing impact on the world as we know it. It is therefore important that as individuals, employees and employers, we take the opportunities, and help others, to be as economically and socially active for as long as possible simply because there doesn't seem to be much of an alternative!
It is therefore more important than ever before that older workers, say anyone over the age of 50, grasp the opportunities for training, on-going learning and development to keep skills up-to-date and to learn new ones so as to take advantage of workplace opportunities. A spokes person from the CIPD has stated that older workers are the group most likely to deselect themselves for training opportunties for a variety of reasons and it is therefore important for employers to have "more targeted engagement, encouraging older workers to engage in these opportunities or providing training which is more adapted to older workers' needs".
Living longer is having a profound and increasing impact on the world as we know it. It is therefore important that as individuals, employees and employers, we take the opportunities, and help others, to be as economically and socially active for as long as possible simply because there doesn't seem to be much of an alternative!
Friday, 1 April 2011
April showers in good news for the 60+
April 2011 is a significant month for those retiring. The default retirement age of 65 is effectively abolished and for many employers this will have a significant impact on performance culture and workforce/succession planning. The changes give employees the right to choose when and whether they wish to leave work and removes the nonsense of being effective and capable at aged 64 and 364 days and then suddenly pensioned off the following day. Hopefully businesses will benefit from the continuing experience and skills that older workers can bring to the workplace if they continue to be capable and effective.
In addition, from 6th April it will no longer be necessary to purchase an annuity at 75. More flexible "income drawdown" rules will allow greater control over an individual's pension fund during lifetime and on death. This again is a much needed improvment to the current position.
And finally, the Government has announced plans to increase the state pension to £150 per week. How this is to be funded has yet to be announced but it does seem another move in the right direction, again helping people to secure a better financial future in their later years.
In addition, from 6th April it will no longer be necessary to purchase an annuity at 75. More flexible "income drawdown" rules will allow greater control over an individual's pension fund during lifetime and on death. This again is a much needed improvment to the current position.
And finally, the Government has announced plans to increase the state pension to £150 per week. How this is to be funded has yet to be announced but it does seem another move in the right direction, again helping people to secure a better financial future in their later years.
Monday, 21 March 2011
Bras for 50+ Women
Underwear provider Playtex has just announced that it will be spending £1m on repositioning its underwear brand to women over the age of 50. They state that their research revealed that women over this age felt they were essentially "ignored", [a common finding in this age group]. The advertisements will feature a 42 year old model with the strapline " Feeling better than ever" and the approach is designed to appeal to women who are still "young at heart" and coping with a changing body shape.
Over the weekend the Guardian also ran a feature about films and the fact that stories never involve women aged over 50. A major cinema audience survey "reveals anger" at the film industry for perpetuating stereotypes.
It is good to see that these aspects are finally getting some airing but it seems incredible that it has taken so long for businesses such as Playtex to finally realise what a massive market the 50+ population is and how under-serviced their needs still are. The menopausal women is a good example of where age could help in targeting but there are many other life events triggering new needs for men and women in the following 4 decades of life which still need addressing. A huge opportunity for businesses to do something worthwhile and earn money.
Over the weekend the Guardian also ran a feature about films and the fact that stories never involve women aged over 50. A major cinema audience survey "reveals anger" at the film industry for perpetuating stereotypes.
It is good to see that these aspects are finally getting some airing but it seems incredible that it has taken so long for businesses such as Playtex to finally realise what a massive market the 50+ population is and how under-serviced their needs still are. The menopausal women is a good example of where age could help in targeting but there are many other life events triggering new needs for men and women in the following 4 decades of life which still need addressing. A huge opportunity for businesses to do something worthwhile and earn money.
Thursday, 10 March 2011
Public Sector Pension Reform
Lord Hutton has just announced his proposals for the reform of public sector pensions. The proposals clearly demonstrate the impact of increasing longevity such that the extension to our lives has been calculated as an extra 5 hours for every day we live. This effectively means living 29 hours a day ie 24 now and 5 for the future. How we live our 24 hours today ie in terms of keeping fit and healthy will impact how we live our extra 5 hours in the future. And the cost of this is now having to be addressed due to the £30bn pension liability which means we all (not just the public sector) will have to pay more, work longer and receive less in retirement. We have to pay financially some how for our extra 5 hours a day.
While the public sector are losing their pensions linked to final salaries they are still retaining "defined benefits" even though this is changing to the lower "career average". This is still much better than the changes experienced by the private sector which has moved from "defined benefits" to "defined contributions" providing much more uncertainty for individuals in terms of what the market for annuity rates will be like at retirement age. The differential between public and private pensions still seems to have been maintained with the proposed reforms and we are now at last starting to address some of the very real issues of the ageing population.
While the public sector are losing their pensions linked to final salaries they are still retaining "defined benefits" even though this is changing to the lower "career average". This is still much better than the changes experienced by the private sector which has moved from "defined benefits" to "defined contributions" providing much more uncertainty for individuals in terms of what the market for annuity rates will be like at retirement age. The differential between public and private pensions still seems to have been maintained with the proposed reforms and we are now at last starting to address some of the very real issues of the ageing population.
Monday, 7 March 2011
The over 65s for marketing
Just to reiterate a couple of points made in the Observer newspaper yesterday.
Will Hutton's piece about the most dynamic part of the labour market is the growth in employment of the over 65s with 104,000 of the 218,000 job growth going to the over 65s, much of this part-time.This may suggest that employers are still wanting to reap the benefits of the skills and experience of older workers and are prepared to offer flexible options to enable them to do this. As Will says, this will accelerate from April when there is no requirement to leave work at 65.
The there is Andrew Clark's comment about the annual spending in the UK of households which include someone over 65, which passed the £1bn mark in 2009.
This might suggest where the potential growth in our economy could be for businesses if you put these 2 points together,an increase in the number of peope working beyond 65 ie being economically active, and the spending power of people in their mid-60s- mid 70s (who spend a higher proportion of their budget on food and drink, housing, furniture and recreation, per Saga research). However, the 65-75 age group doesn't tend to be where most marketers focus.
Will Hutton's piece about the most dynamic part of the labour market is the growth in employment of the over 65s with 104,000 of the 218,000 job growth going to the over 65s, much of this part-time.This may suggest that employers are still wanting to reap the benefits of the skills and experience of older workers and are prepared to offer flexible options to enable them to do this. As Will says, this will accelerate from April when there is no requirement to leave work at 65.
The there is Andrew Clark's comment about the annual spending in the UK of households which include someone over 65, which passed the £1bn mark in 2009.
This might suggest where the potential growth in our economy could be for businesses if you put these 2 points together,an increase in the number of peope working beyond 65 ie being economically active, and the spending power of people in their mid-60s- mid 70s (who spend a higher proportion of their budget on food and drink, housing, furniture and recreation, per Saga research). However, the 65-75 age group doesn't tend to be where most marketers focus.
Friday, 4 March 2011
Hope for the future
There have been many negative issues trailed in the media in recent weeks about getting older. The fact that we're not saving enough for our old age, that we will have to work until 66 to get the state pension from 2020, and Saga's research into the overs 50s which shows that all the the measures of quality of life have declined in January compared to the previous year. In this survey, the 50-59 year olds are reported to be having the worst time, with happiness, health and living standards all falling (and no doubt concerns about having enough to live on in their old age preying on their minds in the run-up to retirement).
The age group with the smallest decline in well-being was reported to be the 65-69 year olds who were not as worried about their health as older age groups, or about their standard of living as younger. (This might suggest that they are the people for marketers to target).
It was therefore quite refreshing to hear some positive news this morning that there is a potential medical breakthrough in the battle against Alzheimers which could have significant impact on sufferers, possibly in the next 10 years. This is a reminder that the reasons why we are living longer, and having to face complex social and economic issues, are largely due to massive improvements in public health and medical achievements over the last few decades and that these deserve a bit more emphasis and attention.
The age group with the smallest decline in well-being was reported to be the 65-69 year olds who were not as worried about their health as older age groups, or about their standard of living as younger. (This might suggest that they are the people for marketers to target).
It was therefore quite refreshing to hear some positive news this morning that there is a potential medical breakthrough in the battle against Alzheimers which could have significant impact on sufferers, possibly in the next 10 years. This is a reminder that the reasons why we are living longer, and having to face complex social and economic issues, are largely due to massive improvements in public health and medical achievements over the last few decades and that these deserve a bit more emphasis and attention.
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