Guiding your employees through retirement

It has been revealed that today is the very first time that someone turning 65 will not be eligible for a State Pension. The increases to the State Pension Age will result in a pension age of 66 for both men and women by October 2020.

A new report by ‘Centre for Ageing Better’ has raised concerns relating to retirement, finding that a significant number of people are concerned about their retirement plans.

Data carried out, interviewing participants over 50 found that 50% of people who plan to retire in the next five years are actually looking forward to it. As 41% of the participants said that they would be worried about managing their money, 33% being concerned about being bored, this is closely followed by 32% who would be worried about their lack of social connections from work. And 24% worry about having a lack of purpose upon retiring.

The report concludes that there is, in general, a lack of preparation towards retirement, this has become considerably more apparent amongst those with lower income.

As planned State Pension Age changes come into effect today, the Centre for Ageing Better is calling on employers not to shy away from talking to their staff about retirement, including when and how they want to retire, and to ensure they are providing support to help staff plan for the transition. This report also showcases that women tend to engage in planning for life after paid work even less than men.

Because of this high level of uncertainty amongst the public, the Centre for Ageing Better is calling on employers to consider the role they play in improving peoples’ readiness for retirement and to provide staff with a supportive environment in which to discuss plans and offer guidance on preparation.

Aideen Young, Evidence Manager at the Centre for Ageing Better, commented on this lack of certainty around retirement, saying: “We often hear that, following the removal of the default retirement age, employers have become worried about talking to older workers about retiring for fear of being ageist. And yet employers have a pivotal and very positive role to play to support people to think about and plan for this major life transition. As working patterns change and become more fluid, the need for support and guidance to help people think about their future only increases.”

Although there are many employers that do aid their workforce financially in this transition from full-time work to retirement, there are many other aspects of the transition that leaders can help with, to help them better prepare their employees for the huge change, such as the psychological, and emotional effects retirement can have.

It is important for pre-retirement support to be an integral part of employers’ efforts to be age-friendly – which should also include practices such as offering flexible working and supporting older workers to manage health conditions in the workplace.

Aiden continues to discuss what additional support employers can bring, saying “Our message to employers is that it’s good to talk. Far from being a risk, being open and positive about how to manage the retirement transition will help them to retain experienced staff, who as a result will likely go on to experience more positive outcomes in later life.”

As well as employers having a big part to play in providing necessary support for their workforce. The government can also have a significant impact, by pushing more open workplace discussions relating to the ageing workforce, as well as providing employers with the resources that they need to plan for the transition to retirement.