A new government strategy, arising from a report by former Pensions Minister Ros Altmann in 2015, encourages bosses to boost the number of older workers and ensure they are not writing people off once they reach a certain age.
Damian Green, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, said: “I urge all businesses to reassess the value of older workers. Nobody should write off hiring someone due to their age and it’s unacceptable that some older people are overlooked for roles they would suit completely.”
It’s estimated that by mid-2030s people aged 50 and over will comprise more than half of the UK adult population.
The new Fuller Working Lives strategy outlines how a coalition of jobcentres and businesses can combine to support older workers to continue in their careers or take a new direction.
The average age of leaving the labour market has increased over the past 2 decades, but it is still lower than it was in 1950 and is not keeping pace with increases in life expectancy, a report said.
The research showed 1 in 4 men and 1 in 3 women reaching state pension age have not worked for 5 years or more.
By delaying retirement until 65 instead of 55 someone with average earnings could have £280,000 extra income and might increase their pension pot by 55%, the Government stated.
Jon Greer, retirement expert at Old Mutual Wealth, said: “The positive impact of this kind of strategy has already been seen in Japan. The Japanese have already built an infrastructure that supports placing older people in jobs in later life.
“The Japanese National Silver Human Resource Centre has helped more than half a million older Japanese find work. By March 2016 more than 20 percent of Japanese older than 65 still work in some way.”
Legislation has already been introduced to support Fuller Working Lives, including the removal of the Default Retirement Age and the introduction of the right for everyone to request flexible working, officials said.
The Government said it has a commitment that apprenticeships are as accessible as possible to people of all ages and backgrounds and added it is putting control of adult skills budgets in the hands of learners and employers.
Older Claimant Champions are being introduced in all Jobcentre Plus districts.
Anna Dixon, chief executive of the Centre for Ageing Better, said: “This is just the start – to achieve a significant increase will need concerted effort from employers as well as government, and a change in individual attitudes. This needs to include support for carers, access to lifelong learning, support for people with health conditions and disabilities at work – and an end to ageism in the workplace.”
Rachael Saunders, age at work director at Business in the Community, said: “It is now for business to step up, and retain, retrain and recruit the older workers who are vital to the success of UK business, as they are the employees of today, and the talent pool of tomorrow.”