Two out of three expect to work beyond 65

• 74% of those who expect to be working beyond 65 say it will be because they will not be able to afford to retire
• 13% will carry on working to provide financial support to their children
• Only 7% of the British workforce is ‘very confident’ they will have adequate income in retirement
• One in five recruitment consultants expects 20% of the UK workforce to be aged 65 and over by 2020

New research from Portus, the employment benefits consultancy firm, reveals that 66% of the British working population expects to work beyond 65.  Just over one in ten (11%) anticipate they will be working beyond 76, or will never retire.

The main reason for working beyond 65 – cited by 74% of those who anticipate they will do this - is that they don’t think they will have enough money to live on.  Some 13% believe it will be because they will have to provide financial support to their children, and 4% say they will be helping grandchildren.

Portus’s research shows that 50% of those people aged 65 and over who are still working are doing so because they do not have enough money to live on while 22% are working to help children and 6% are still in jobs to help fund grandchildren.

Around two out of five (42%) of workers believe they will have adequate income during their retirement. However just 7% are very confident while one in ten (10%) are ‘very unconfident’ they will.  

Despite the retirement gloom just over one in four of those who expect to work beyond 65 (26%) say they will do this because they enjoy working and don’t want to get bored if they stop.

Portus Consulting Commercial Director Steve Watson says: “The demographics of the UK workforce are changing rapidly and this has huge implications for employers in terms of the range of employee benefits they offer.  For example, an older workforce will want greater access to advice or guidance on how to use their pension savings whilst still at work, and it can also have huge implications for the provision of medical and critical insurance cover, for example.”

Portus has recently launched a new service called RetirePort, which aims to help employees understand their total retirement planning and shift the focus of workplace guidance and education from simply looking at pension savings. It has been launched specifically in response to pensions freedom enabling employees to take pension cash at 55-plus however they want subject to marginal tax rates.

Portus’s research reveals that 26% of people claim that over the past three years, they have noticed an increase in the number of people aged 60 being employed where they work. 

Around 10.3% of the UK workforce is aged 65 and over, but research from the employee benefits consultancy firm with recruitment consultants reveals that 63% expects this to rise to 15% or over by 2020 – one in five believe that 20% or more will be in this age group.