Britain’s early retirements resist calls to work despite higher living costs | – #Britains #early #retirements #resist #calls #work #higher #living #costs

LONDON, March 9 (Reuters) – In their fifties and deciding there is more to life than work, Liz and Ian Woodbridge quit stressful jobs during the pandemic – part of a group of British early retirees who are now resisting a government call to return. living expenses.

Hundreds of thousands of older workers left their jobs during and after the social disruptions of COVID-19 for a range of reasons, including health, contributing to a chronic labor shortage that forecasters predict will drag down Britain’s economic performance for years.

The relative wealth of many early retirees poses a problem for Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt, who says Britain needs them to leave the “golf course”. Hunt is considering policies to reintroduce them in the UK’s March 15 budget.

But with no mortgage to pay and enjoying a new lifestyle in the English countryside, Liz, a 58-year-old ex-tech marketing manager, and Ian, a 57-year-old ex-fund manager, rejected the advisers’ offers. their old employers.

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“Nothing would make me want to go back to anything,” said Liz, who tried a temporary job proctoring exams at a local school but soon became frustrated with the intrusion on her time.

Double digits, Ian said inflation increased their daily spending, but not enough to change their minds.

The declining workforce economic opportunities and fans for the government labour it is a headache that reduces fee demands and inflation. It comes at a time when UK growth is also being held back by Brexit-related trade and investment disruptions.

Britain is the only one of the world’s seven largest advanced economies that is still smaller than it was before the pandemic, and economists see a link to a smaller workforce.

National According to the Statistics Office, since the last quarter of 2019 Britain 408,000 people between the ages of 16 and 64 have lost their jobs. 313 thousand of them were over 50.

Even with the increase in the cost of living, the number of people aged 50-64 in the labor force has increased by only 68,000 since the low point in mid-2022.

The exodus of older workers is unprecedented in other developed economies. According to figures from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the employment rate of workers aged 55-64 has fallen more than in any other advanced economy.

The Bank of England predicted last month that Britain’s overall labor force participation rate would remain below pre-pandemic levels for the foreseeable future.

Hunt’s options are limited. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to get people back to work at the start of the year social about 90% of people between the ages of 55 and 59 who take early retirement or are unemployed are not dependent on work, although they say they want to make better use of the welfare system. National According to the survey of the Statistics Office, state benefits.

“It’s a pretty tough sell,” said Tony Wilson, director of Britain’s Institute for Employment Research. “The better part of 90% of people who say they are retiring early … say they will not work again or will never work.”

Reuters Chart “GOLDEN GENERATION”

For Woodbridges, the government’s limited resources are convenient for older people tax It should focus on helping young people rather than driving them into work with benefits, saying that their “golden generation” is already enjoying final salary pensions, free university education and affordable housing that young people can afford. just dreaming.

“Kids are saddled with student loans and they’re basically picking up the tab for the 40-year celebration we’ve been enjoying,” Ian said.

Business groups and researchers agree that child engaging in maintenance will do more to unlock more economic growth.

Wealth plays a big factor in early retirement decisions. The richest fifth of 50-59 year olds compared to the lowest fifth, according to Britain’s Resolution Foundation, based on pre-pandemic data 10 once determined that early retirement is likely.

Britons with personal pensions from the age of 55 tax they can withdraw their assets without penalty – a lower age than elsewhere.

National Economic and Social Stephen Millard, deputy director of the Institute for Research think tank, said this could have led to a further decline in Britain’s number of older workers.

In the Woodbridges’ case, the pandemic has created economic opportunities that hastened their decision to retire early, Ian said, adding to the value of their home near London, which they sold to move to a cheaper property in the Shropshire countryside.

But wealthy people aren’t the only ones leaving work early.

Deborah Feighan, 62, 2020In April , she retired from her job as a ward administrator in Britain’s National Health Service and, with her husband Malachy, who had to stop working due to knee problems, started a modest pension lives with

Former colleagues to return to work offer they did, but he doesn’t want to go back to the old strict shift model.

Ill-health is a more common reason for leaving work than early retirement for low-paid Britons aged 50-64, according to research by the Trades Union Congress.

Compared to the end of 2019, England’s labour Among its able-bodied population, 390,000 more people said long-term ill health was the cause of their economic inactivity.

Less official data is available, especially for people aged 50-64, but by the end of September 2022 among people who stopped working after the pandemic, early pension and an almost equal distribution was observed between health status.

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In some cases, older people who want to work find it difficult to get hired.

Maya Bhose, 61, is looking for a marketing director position, preferably at a charity, but has been struggling to find work for a year and has only had one job interview since September.

“You can’t prove that the difficulty is because of your age, but it certainly is,” he said.

Other companies say they value older workers based on their experience. Retaining such workers is a priority for Jenny Holloway, 60, chief executive of Fashion-Enter Ltd, especially after Brexit. Europe has an employee.

He has slightly increased his salary and flexible work roles and shifts to make the clothing company more attractive offer did

A skilled seamstress at the hour 20 pound sterling (24 dollars) can win, Holloway says – Britain well above average – but it takes years for a new employee to reach this standard.

Yasemin Mehmet, 68, returned to Fashion-Enter last year after briefly retiring at the end of 2021 to look after her ailing daughter and granddaughter.

Mehmet, who made her wedding dresses by machine, said the reason she came back was money, but more than half a century after she started as a 14-year-old girl, she still enjoys creating dresses.

“I made it up. I created. It always gave me pleasure,” he said.

Fashion-Enter, which makes up to 25,000 garments a week for clients such as ASOS ( ASOS.L ) and Amazon ( AMZN.O ), as well as smaller runs for high-end designers, lost dozens of workers during and after the pandemic. many found they could get by on less income. Some returned to their homelands in Eastern Europe.

“Older workers are the ones with the skills – we’re not getting the young people with the skills we need. That’s why it’s so important to keep them,” Holloway said.

Reporting by David Milliken; Edited by Frank Jack Daniel

Our standards: Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

2023-03-09 11:48:30
Source – reuters

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