Rethinking the future of work and retirement

On average, we're living longer than previous generations. This means we need to think about how and when we work and save for the kind of retirement we want. That’s why it’s important that we start thinking about work in different ways.

But how does work need to be redesigned to meet the needs of our longer lives? To think about what work could and should look like in the future, we brought together Catherine Foot (Director of Phoenix Insights), and Cath Sermon (Phoenix Insights, Head of Public Engagement and Campaigns), to discuss the ways we could start to rethink work and retirement.

Watch the videos below to find out more. 

Why does living longer mean we need to rethink our views of work and retirement?

“We’re living through a huge demographic transition. As many as one in three children born today have a good chance of living to 100. And that presents both opportunity and challenge.

It’s an opportunity to think about how we spend our time over our longer lives. We need to think about how and when we want to work, when we want to learn and when we want to play. And a big part of this is considering our views about retirement.

In order to have the retirement we want and expect, we need to make sure that we have enough in our pensions.”

What age do people expect to retire?

“Most people do expect to retire at some point, but the age they expect to retire varies a lot. The average age is around 65, but some people expect to retire at 50 and others don’t expect to retire at all.

For some people their views of retirement have changed because of their perception of age – many 50-year-olds have a lot more that they want to do and achieve in their careers. But for some, working longer comes from necessity, as they don’t have enough saved for retirement.

But for everyone thinking about working longer, the key thing they want is flexibility. And that’s one place that businesses and employers can really help to drive change and support people working for longer.”

What’s at stake if we don’t change the way we think about work and retirement?

“The prospect of living longer, of working longer, of retiring later, is very different depending on your level of wealth, health, and education.

Future governments are likely to increase the age at which you can access the state pension. It’s currently 66, but it could go up to 68. While that might offer a bit of protection for the government against rising pension costs, it won’t address the problem. Because if people can’t physically stay in work because either their skills are out of date, employers don’t want to hire them or their health isn’t so good, then the cost of the problem is just moved elsewhere.”

How does rethinking work and retirement benefit society?

“If we get it right, we all win. We would be living in a country that is genuinely organised to help people make the most of longer lives. One that maximises human potential, and that has successfully managed the financial challenge of an ageing population by enabling people to be healthy and productive for longer.”

What will the world of work look like if we get it right?

“Lifelong learning, flexible work and switching careers at any age would become the norm. This would allow everyone to have the opportunity to work for longer in the way that they want.

Recruitment practices would have changed to remove any inherent age bias and businesses would be enjoying the productivity gains of four generations of people working in teams together.”

How does recruitment need to change?

“Age blind recruitment processes – such as removing ages from CVs, or focussing on years of experience in different roles, rather than dates in the role – helps older workers to experience a fair recruitment process. And more flexible roles, as well as roles being advertised as flexible, need to become the norm too.”

How do we make lifelong learning a reality?

“Employers have a big role to play in supporting lifelong learning and development. We must make sure that everyone, no matter their age, has access to learning and development opportunities.

But more investment is needed from businesses and the government to make sure everyone can learn new skills that are needed. The Lifelong Learning Entitlement – which is due in 2025 – is an important innovation that will help more people access learning and training opportunities.”

What kind of support do people need to help them change their careers over time?

“Different people need different things. Some people are worried about returning to work after a long career break. Some are approaching retirement but want to keep working to help their children save for a house deposit. Some people want to switch careers to find more purpose from their work.

But switching careers is a big decision and people need support to do it. That’s why we set up Careers Can Change - to help people know that career change is possible, and to connect them to great sources of support to do it.”