HR Magazine: How can HR departments support a multigenerational workforce as 2.5 million workers plan to delay retirement?

According to data from Opinium Research, on behalf of Legal & General, 2.5 million pre-retirees will have to delay retirement because of the economic downturn, with 1.7 million expected to have to keep working indefinitely, either in part-time or full-time roles.

With the average retirement age in the UK for men being 64.7 years and for women 63.6 years, those workers who planned to delay their retirement have stated they would delay the decision by at least three years, on average, with almost two-thirds unable to afford the loss of income during a cost of living crisis. Other reasons for delaying retirement included people enjoying their jobs as well as not feeling ‘old enough’ to retire yet. While many workers may choose to retire later because they enjoy their work, there are millions of people who are making this decision based on necessity, rather than personal choice. 

In addition, projections by the Government Office for Science highlight one in seven individuals will be over 75 by 2040 with a projection that by 2030, half of the UK's population will be above 50. As a result, the UK's productivity and economic success will be more and more dependent on older employees, which will require HR to develop policies to help and support an older workforce’s requirement. Whether that’s flexible working, reasonable adjustments, job related training and/or an enhanced reward systems, policies will need to be for this purpose.

So, how can HR support the millions delaying retirement? Read the full feature over on HR Magazine: https://www.hrmagazine.co.uk/content/comment/how-can-hr-support-the-millions-delaying-retirement.