Don’t try to sideline your oldest and most experienced members of staff – because they could be a pivotal part of your business for a lot longer than you expect.
That’s the message from Tony Elliott, our Senior Tax Planner, following a survey which shows that over-50s are now making their biggest contribution to the UK workforce since records began.
More than 300 in every 1,000 adults employed during the first half of this year were aged 50 or above, according to the figures from the Office For National Statistics and Aviva – a massive 42% increase on the figure in the early 1990s.
Tony said: “Companies which are not harnessing the benefits offered by their most experienced staff are missing a trick.
“Times have changed. With the removal of the default retirement age, and people living longer, people have an appetite for continuing to work to a much later age, and continuing to learn, and to better themselves.”
He added: “The rise in over-50s in employment has been helped by the abolition of the Default Retirement Age, which means employers can no longer force their staff to retire at 65 – 6% of our working population is now over the age of 65, and numbers are still climbing.
“But Aviva’s data also indicates that work has become more important to people’s sense of financial security in later life, particularly among those aged 55-64, where 11% now see retirement as a threat to their living standards. So it’s important that employers really do take time to consider how to get the most out of their more experienced employees.”
The Aviva survey points out that the rise in older workers is also good for the economy, increasing tax revenue, helping to close the UK’s budget deficit, and raising personal savings levels.
Tony said: “Over 55s can play a vital part in most businesses. One in ten say stopping work is the hardest part of retiring, so they are hugely motivated to make a valued contribution to their employers.”
Tony Elliott, Senior Tax Planner
