State pensioners warned they face 'having to return to work' in crisis
State pensioners have been warned they face a "retirement crisis" as shocking new figures reveal more and more older people are being forced to RETURN to work. The Department for Work and Pensions ( DWP ) state pension rates have been found to be "not enough".
Nearly one-in-ten Britons aged over 55 have either returned to work after retirement or are actively seeking employment due to financial pressures. More than a quarter of those who have "unretired" report their pension income is insufficient to live on.
And one in three blame increased living costs. Mike Ambery, Retirement Savings Director at Standard Life, said: "Recent retirees couldn't have foreseen the cost-of-living issues that have squeezed their retirement incomes, and many are now being forced to rethink their plans."
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Catherine Foot, Director of Phoenix Insights, said: "The over-50s face significant barriers to re-entry. This is primarily due to a lack of opportunities and insufficient provision of good quality flexible work that people working later in life desire.
"Being out of work before state pension age is a major driver of pre-retirement poverty, so it’s critical the government and employers to better support this group to remain in employment. Providing access to flexible work is one of the most important factors to enabling this.”
Emily Andrews, deputy director for work at the Centre for Ageing Better, told HR magazine that the number of people over 50 returning to work could be due to the cost of living crisis or the benefits of work. “For the most part of the 21st century there has been significant growth in the proportion and number of 50-64 year olds in work,” she said.
“But then two crises have caused significant disruption to that narrative. The Covid-19 pandemic led to large numbers of older workers leaving the labour market. Then followed the cost-of-living crisis, which might have encouraged some over 50 workers to reconsider their plans to leave the labour market as they found their money was no longer going as far.”