Overcoming Inequalities: Addressing barriers to extending working lives

Extending Working Lives:
Overcoming Inequalities Conference
An ILC-UK, renEWL and Uncertain Futures
Research Consortium Conference
Wednseday 5th April 2017
Twitter #EWL17

Welcome
Chair: Dr Brian Beach
Research Fellow
ILC-UK
#EWL17

Introduction on behalf of MRC
Professor David Armstrong
Department of Primary Care and
Public Health Sciences
King's College London
#EWL17

Extending Working Lives
David Armstrong

Lifelong Health and Wellbeing
• Challenge of an ageing population
• longer life expectancy
• earlier low fertility rate
• Research Councils already researching ageing
but need to address inter-disciplinary
problems
• 2007: AHRC, BBSRC, EPSRC, ESRC & MRC
set up cross-Council programme to fund
inter-disciplinary ageing research (MRC lead)

An ageing population
Strategic Priorities
1.Achieving good cognitive function
and mental wellbeing in later life
2.Promoting physical health in older
age
3.Enhancing mobility and
independence in an ageing
population
4.Extending working lives

Extending working lives
Stakeholders
• Policy: Govt. Depts.: Work and Pensions, Business
Innovation & Science, Health/NIHR
• Employers: EDF, BT, BP, Shell, Co-op, TfL, NHS employers,
GSK, Jaguar Landrover, Unilever, Rolls-Royce, Morrisons and
actuaries
• Researchers: including from public health, epidemiology,
psychology, occupational health, economics and sociology
Consultation exercises / workshops / funding initiatives

What did I learn?
1. How can we afford to pay pensions in future?

The good news – we are living longer

Economic need to extend working lives
• Pensions policy assumed about 10 years of
retirement (retire at 65, death at 75 …)
• Increasing life expectancy implies longer
working lives and later pensions
• PWC prediction – child born today will work
until 77 years old
• Further pressures from smaller number of
younger working population supporting older
population

What did I learn?
2. Why do some people not work to pensionable age?

Staying in workforce
• Once out of work >50s less likely to return
to work
• Incentives to keep people in the workforce
to state pension age (and beyond?) and
return after absence
• Better understanding of determinants of
retirement and working patterns

What did I learn?
3. Will health allow extending working lives?

Most people at 60-64 years have health
problems
NSHD 1946 cohort –
Clinical examination identifying 15 disorders
requiring medical supervision
• Cohort members had two disorders on
average
• 2/3rd had a severe disorder
• Only 15% without any disorder
Pierce et al, PLoS One 2012

Prevalence of multi-morbidity by age
and socio-economic status
Lancet 2012

Most people can expect chronic health
problems in old age
2008-10 UK:
Males:
Life expectancy at birth 78.1
Disability-free life expectancy 63.5
Females:
Life expectancy at birth 82.1
Disability-free life expectancy 65.7
ONS

Fitness for work
• How to manage chronic conditions in an
ageing workforce
• Matching and evaluating physical and
mental capability and job type
• Improving functional capacity and fitness in
older workers

What did I learn?
4. Should employers invest in training and retraining?

Training dilemmas
• BT has many engineers approaching retirement age
• They are skilled in using copper wires
• Future engineers will use glass fibre
• It takes 2 years to retrain in fibre
• Should BT invest in retraining engineers in their 60s?

What did I learn?
5. Is an extended working life a good thing?

Value of continued working for health
and well-being
• Is work/retirement good or bad for health
and wellbeing?
• Some studies show retirement good, others
bad
• Morrisons (supermarket) reported presence
of older workers good for rest of workforce
• third of workforce over 50
• 3 people over 90

What did I learn?
5. Is an extended working life a good thing?
6. What is lost by continuing in paid employment?

The hidden workforce
• Much caring in the home and community
by older ‘retired’ people
• Much volunteering/charity work by older
‘retired’ people
• ‘Work’ not just paid employment …

Extending Working Lives: funding
1 Interdisciplinary Research Consortia
Collaborations of UK academics
•determinants of working later in life
•relationship between work, health and
wellbeing of older workers
2 Research Partnership Awards
Partnerships of academics and public/private
employers or stakeholders
• Addressing stakeholder challenges and needs
within a workplace or policy setting

Extending Working Lives
• Novel collaborations with business, public employers
and policy
• Good levels of engagement across range of
employers
• Access to workforce data not otherwise possible
• Access to workplace settings for evaluative
research
• Studies of work, health and retirement
• Relationship between financial, social and health
issues
• Promote interdisciplinary research – social,
economics, public health, epidemiology, clinical

Introduction from renEWL,
and the Uncertain Futures
Research Consortium
Prof. Jenny
Head
Professor of Medical
and Social Statistics
UCL
Prof. Sarah
Vickerstaff
Professor of Work and
Employment
University of Kent
#EWL17

The renEWL research consortium
Jenny Head
Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, UCL
www.ucl.ac.uk/renewl

renEWL is a joint collaboration between researchers from:
• Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, UCL
• MRC Unit for Lifelong Health and Ageing, UCL
• Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine, QMUL
• Stress Research Institute, University of Stockholm,
• Division of Insurance Medicine, Karolinska Institute,
Our research is funded by the ESRC and MRC under the Lifelong Health and
Wellbeing (LLHW) Cross-Council Programme initiative [ES/L002892/1].

Jenny Head (PI), Mai Stafford (co-PI)
with co-investigators and researchers:
Nicola Shelton, Director of CeLSIUS and Senior Lecturer, UCL
Paola Zaninotto, Lecturer in Statistics, UCL
Emily Murray, Senior Research Associate, UCL
Ewan Carr, Research Associate, UCL
Maria Fleischmann, Research Associate, UCL
Baowen Xue, Research Associate, UCL
Dorina Cadar, Research Associate, UCL
Gareth Hagger-Johnson, former Senior Research Associate, UCL
Diana Kuh, Director of MRC Unit for Lifelong Health and Ageing, UCL
Stephen Stansfeld, Professor of Psychiatry, QMUL
Charlotte Clark, Reader, QMUL
Kristina Alexanderson, Karolinska Institute, Sweden
Hugo Westerlund, University of Stockholm, Sweden

Background
In response to increasing life expectancy and
population ageing, many governments are seeking
to:
• increase retirement age and state pension age
• Encourage people to remain in work up to and
beyond state pension age

Employment rates for people aged 50-64 and 65+
Source: Labour Force Survey (Great Britain)

Employment rates by age in 2015
0
20
40
60
80
100
50-54 55-59 60-64 65-69 70-74
Men
Women
Percentofpopulation
Source: ONS Labour Force

Our research themes
Our aim is to conduct longitudinal research on the determinants of
Extending Working Lives (EWL).
 focus on the interface of different domains
 factors from midlife and earlier
 consider other socially productive roles among older people (volunteer,
carer)

Health expectancy
 Health expectancy is the number of additional
years of life spent in favourable states of health or
without disability
 Increases in total life expectancy may not be
matched by increases in health expectancy

Men and women in routine and manual occupational positions can
expect fewer years lived in good health or without chronic disease
0
5
10
15
20
25
Women Men
Years
Occupational position: Routine and manual Intermediate Professional
Healthy life
expectancy ages 50 to
75
Chronic disease-free life
expectancy
ages 50-75
0
5
10
15
20
25
Women Men
Source: English Longitudinal Study of Ageing, Head J et al, submitted.
Inequalities in health expectancy

Key messages
 Inequalities by:
Health
Working conditions
Socioeconomic characteristics
 These are independently related to aspects of EWL
 Mid-adulthood (and earlier) is important
 Context matters
Local unemployment or changing levels of local
unemployment
Family/household factors, such as onset of caring

References
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/renewl

Thank you
 To our funders
 To all participants in the studies
 To our collaborators
 To our advisory board members
@ EWLresearch

UNCERTAIN FUTURES: MANAGING LATE-CAREER
TRANSITIONS AND EXTENDED WORKING LIVES
This ESRC-funded mixed
methods research, which
combines quantitative data
(ELSA, HRS and NCDS) and
organisational case studies,
makes a distinctive contribution
to our appreciation of the
drivers and inhibitors for
extending working life (EWL).
Pag
e 43
Please visit our website:
https://www.kent.ac.uk/extendingworkinglives/findings.html
for articles and papers that elaborate on our findings

Research Objectives
• Mapping existing and emerging late-career transitions using
existing longitudinal data sets (ELSA/HRS).
• Identifying risk and protective factors affecting individuals during
the transition from work to retirement (NCDS).
• Conducting case studies to understand the way in which
processes associated with extended working life are negotiated
within the workplace.
• Synthesising findings from quantitative and qualitative data to
produce new models about the changing character of late-career
transitions.
Pag
e 44

Policy Developments
The last decade has seen unprecedented policy reform
and development across a number of spheres which
impacts upon EWL:
• Equalities legislation (2006)
• No default retirement age (2011)
• Changes to state pension ages (1995/2011/2014
ongoing)
• Pension reform and auto enrolment
• Welfare reform (incapacity benefit to employment
support allowance)
• Flexible employment (2014)
Page 45

Individual Choice – Employer Action?
• Much of the policy discussion stresses that the
impact of these policy reforms is to extend
individual choice about when and how to retire.
• In reality these policy changes firmly place the
onus on employers to recruit and retain older
workers.
• However, our research found little evidence that
organisations have begun to work through the
implications of an ageing workforce.
Pag
e 46

Thank You!
Thanks to all the people involved with the project:
Laura Airey, Ben Baumberg-Geiger, Amanda Burns,
Charlotte Clark, Joanne Crawford, Amanda Fahy,
Mariska van der Horst, David Lain, Wendy Loretto,
Chris Phillipson, Mark Robinson, Sue Shepherd, David
Wainwright, Andrew Weyman
Pag
e 47

Presentation of research –
Health inequalities
Dr Mai Stafford
renEWL
Dr Charlotte Clark
Uncertain Futures
Research Consortium
#EWL17

Health inequalities across the life course and later life
employment
Mai Stafford, PhD
MRC Unit for Lifelong Health and Ageing at UCL

How is health in later adulthood, mid-adulthood and
childhood related to later life employment?
A life course approach suggests health impact on later life
working needs to be considered at several life stages
Childhood Mid-adulthood Later adulthood
Chronic
conditions,
e.g. diabetes
Physical and
cognitive
capability
(before onset of
chronic
condition)
Serious
childhood
illness and
affective
symptoms
Work
status

In later adulthood, what distinguishes those with a chronic
condition who are more versus less work disabled?
Having a chronic health condition is associated with
earlier exit from work
Illustrate with diabetes
 Number with diagnosed diabetes has doubled since 1996 (now 3.5
million)1
 19% of people age 50-59 years and 26% of people age 60-69 years
with diabetes1
Source: 1Diabetes UK 2016

Diabetes is not a homogeneous condition in terms of its
consequences for work disability
High prevalence of comorbid
disease
Physical inactivity
Obesity
High prevalence of
psychological symptoms
n ~ 2,500 with
diabetes
Low prevalence of comorbid
disease
Moderately active
Not obese
Few psychological symptoms
More work disability
66% higher rate of
disability days
33% higher rate of
disability episodes
4.5 yrs
4.5 yrs Lower work
disability
Source: Finnish Public Sector Study, GAZEL France, Whitehall II study UK. Virtanen
et al Plos One 2015;e0143184.
Work disability based on sickness
absence records, disability pension
and reported retirement on health
grounds

 Also associated with more frequent and longer duration of
absences from work among people with diabetes
 lower occupational grade
 higher level of job strain (high demands and low control)
Source: Ervasti et al Scand J Public Health 2016;44:84-90; Ervasti et al Diabetic
Medicine 2016;33:208-17.
There are also social and psychosocial risk factors for
work disability among people with diabetes
 Greater support for older workers with chronic conditions
such as diabetes, especially targeted towards those
 in manual occupations,
 with job strain,
 or with poorer health-related behaviours
 Next step to look at other chronic conditions, notably MSK
conditions

Mid-adulthood: physical and cognitive capability may be
impaired before onset of chronic conditions
Physical and cognitive capability
predict subsequent onset of conditions2
may be impaired before onset
Physical tests for muscle strength, motor control, balance
Cognitive tests for memory, mental processing speed,
verbal ability
Reports of problems walking, stairs, reaching, gripping
Reports of memory problems or other cognitive
limitations
Source: 2Cooper et al Age Ageing 2011;40:14-23

Midlife physical and cognitive capability and later life
employment among the baby boomer generation
Are the measures of physical and cognitive capability at age 53
associated with bridge employment at age 60+?
MRC National Survey of Health and
Development
>5000 singleton babies born in 1946
Now age 71, followed up 24 times
51% of men and 69% of women retired from
main occupation age ≤60 years
40% of men and 24% of women took bridge
employment
Bridge employment = paid work after retirement
from main occupation

Model includes gender, education, occupational class, partner’s employment, work disability age 53,
retirement age, health conditions, physical performance, cognitive performance.
Source: MRC NSHD, Stafford et al Scand J Work Env Health 2016.
Better physical and cognitive capability in mid-adulthood is
associated with participation in bridge employment age 60+

Better physical and cognitive capability in mid-adulthood is
associated with participation in voluntary work age 60+
Model includes gender, education, occupational class, partner’s employment, work disability age 53,
health conditions, physical performance, cognitive performance.
Source: MRC NSHD, Stafford et al Scand J Work Env Health 2016.

Participation in both paid and voluntary work in older
age appear to share some determinants
Initiatives to improve or maintain physical and cognitive
capability in mid-adulthood may have long-term benefits for
retaining the skills and experience of older people in the
work force
Applies to both paid and voluntary work

Is health in childhood related to later life employment?
Physical and mental health in childhood may have long-term
consequences for later work
Continuity of poor health in childhood and adulthood
Selection into different social and economic trajectories
throughout life on the basis of childhood health
Selection into work-family patterns

Source: MRC National Survey for Health and Development, Lacey, McMunn et al in
progress
Work-family patterns (age 16-51) are associated with
childhood health: men

Adjusted for father’s social class, childhood health, education, housing tenure age 60-64, LLTI
age 60-64, caregiving age 60-64
Source: MRC National Survey for Health and Development, Lacey , McMunn et al in progress
Employment at age 60-64 is associated with work-family
patterns

Summary: health across life and later life employment
In childhood, poor health (and socioeconomic disadvantage)
may contribute to setting people on different work-family
patterns with implications for their opportunities to extend
working life
In mid-adulthood, even before onset of disease, we can
identify those at risk of non-participation in later life work
 Monitor and promote physical and cognitive capability
In late career stage, recognise that disease/disability is not
homogeneous
 Work disability is not universally high among those with diabetes
 Psychological distress and unhealthy lifestyles play a part too
 Those with a health condition working in jobs or occupational sectors
characterised by high strain or low social class may need extra support to remain
in work

Main reason retired from main occupation: men in the MRC
National Summary of Health and Development

Charlotte Clark1, Melanie Smuk1, David Lain2, Stephen Stansfeld1, Ewan Carr3, Jenny Head3, Sarah Vickerstaff4
1 Queen Mary University of London
2University of Brighton
3 University College London
4 University of Kent
The impact of childhood psychological health
on labour force participation in later life

Funding
This work was funded by the Uncertain Futures: Managing Late Career Transitions and
Extended Working Life project by the ESRC [ES/L002949/1] (Sarah Vickerstaff, Charlotte Clark,
David Lain).
Stephen Stansfeld, Ewan Carr, Jenny Head, and Charlotte Clark are supported by joint funding
from the Economic and Social Research Council and the United Kingdom’s Medical Research
Council, under the Lifelong Health and Wellbeing Cross-Council Programme initiative for the
Renewal project [ES/L002892/1].

Introduction
•By their mid-fifties, many individuals have already left the workplace due to early
retirement, long-term sickness or disability, unemployment or may remain homemakers,
placing expectations on those who remain in the workplace to extend their working lives.
•Health is a key predictor for employment (van Rijn et al., 2014), and in turn, good
employment is beneficial for health (van der Noordt et al., 2014).
•A recent review concluded that mental health problems increased the likelihood for
transition to receipt of a disability pension and unemployment (van Rijn et al, 2014).
• Previous studies:
• Do not consider the impact of childhood psychological health
• Examine the role of ‘homemaker’
• Take into account other adulthood factors, beyond health, that also influence
labour force participation such as educational attainment, partnership status,
past occupational history.

Aims
•We examined whether childhood and adulthood psychological ill-health were associated with
labour force participation and exit at 55 years in the National Child Development Study (1958
British birth cohort).
•Cohort of 98% of births in England, Scotland and Wales during 1 week in March 1958
(n=18,558).
•Data collected at birth, 7y, 11y, 16y, 23y, 33y, 42y, 45y, 50y and 55y

Internalizing symptoms
7y, 11y & 16y
(depression, anxiety)
Externalizing symptoms
7y, 11y & 16y
(depression, anxiety)
Malaise Inventory
23y, 33y, 42y, 50y
(depression, anxiety,
symptoms)
Childhood social class
Partner’s labour force
activity
Marital status
Mid-life labour force
participation/exit
55y
Adulthood social class
Education
No of times unemployed
16y-50y
Length of time
homemaking 16y-50y
Partnership transitions
16y-50y
No of children 16-50y

Labour force participation 55y (n=9010)
Full Time (employed or
self-employed)
61%
Part Time (employed or
self-employed)
20%
Unemployed
3%
Retired
3%
Permanently Sick
5%
Homemaker or other
8%

Results – Childhood Psychological Problems
•Childhood internalizing and externalizing problems were associated with unemployment,
permanent sickness, homemaking/other at 55 years even after taking adulthood
psychological health and education into account.
•One or two reports of internalizing was associated with increased risk for unemployment and
permanent sickness (1.5-2 times the risk).
•Three reports of externalizing was associated with increased risk for unemployment,
permanent sickness and homemaking/other (2-3 times the risk)
•These associations were little changed if we took other adulthood factors into account
• Number of children
• Current partner’s labour force activity
• Number of partnership separations
• Number of periods of unemployment,
• Time spent homemaking

Results – Adulthood Psychological Health (n=9010)
Unemployed
RRR (95%CI)
Permanent
sickness
RRR (95%CI)
Home/family
RRR (95%CI)
Retirement
RRR (95%CI)
Count of malaise episodes 23y, 33y, 42y, 50y
1 1.51* (1.02 - 2.24) 4.54*** (3.44 - 6.01) 1.62*** (1.25 - 2.10) 1.44* (1.01 - 2.05)
2 2.18** (1.28 - 3.72) 7.23*** (5.22 - 10.01) 1.88*** (1.34 - 2.65) 1.23 (0.66 - 2.28)
3 2.62** (1.28 - 5.35) 7.01*** (4.40 - 11.17) 2.54*** (1.63 - 3.96) 1.38 (0.59 - 3.24)
4 4.14** (1.56 - 10.95) 13.62*** (8.09 - 22.95) 3.56*** (2.03 - 6.22) 0.51 (0.07 - 3.77)
Adjusted for gender and social class in adulthood: reference group = FT
employment 55y
***p<=0.01, **p=0.01, *p=0.05.

Conclusions
• Psychological influences on labour force exit may have their origin further back in the
lifecourse. The provision of support for those with mental health problems at different
life-stages is therefore an essential dimension of attempts to extend working lives.
• Education accounts for some of the effects of childhood psychological ill-health on
labour force exit: educational outcomes may also be beneficial for the extending
working lives agenda.
• Proactive approach: focus on primary prevention of psychological ill-health and
education as a means of reducing risk for labour force exit, contrasts with the popular
reactive model which focuses on on better detection and treatment of adult mental
health problems in occupational settings.
• Lifecourse psychological health problems are significantly associated with being a
‘homemaker’. Policy has to do more to provide and promote mental health services for
those with limited connections to the labour market, including homemakers.

Response
Peter Kelly
Senior Psychologist
Health and Safety Executive
#EWL17

Response
Nicola Lee
Employment Relations Adviser
RCN
#EWL17

@NHS_WLG
Ensuring excellence – the
challenge of demographic
change on the NHS
workforce
Nicola Lee
RCN Employment Relations Adviser
Member of NHS Working Longer Group

Demographics of the NHS Workforce
• The average age of NHS staff is 43.7.
• It is projected to rise to 47 by 2023.
• With over half of the NHS population over 40 years old
and a third over 50, the NHS workforce is ageing.
• The majority of the NHS workforce will now have a
pension age of between 65 and 68 - depending on their
date of birth.
• Current review of State Pension Age may recommend
raising pension age again.

Demographics of the NHS workforce
Challenging context
• Increasing service demand,
• Ageing patient population,
• Increased acuity,
• Staffing shortages – recruitment and retention
• Increasing prevalence of chronic illness
• Achieving a sustainable 7 day service

Reported concerns from the service
Staff are concerned about –
• Not being valued at work
• Physicality of work and emotional burn out
• Balancing domestic needs (e.g. caring responsibilities)
• Coping with shifts/night work
Employers are concerned about –
• Ensuring excellent service delivery
• Performance management
• Workforce planning with no default retirement age
• Managing competing flexible work requests
Neither group felt they fully understood the NHS pension scheme

Recommendations from the group
The group made 11 recommendations as part of its preliminary findings
report which concentrated on four main themes:
Work
arrangements &
environment
Data collection
Pension
information
Underpinning it all - AWARENESS
Occupational health
and wellbeing

Work arrangements and the working
environment
• Importance of flexible work
• Fixed and/or flexible working patterns
• Utilising flexible retirement opportunities
• Good job design and ergonomics
• Health and safety
• Age appropriate risk assessment
• Understanding and anticipating retirement
behaviours and providing pension information

Occupational health, safety and well being
• Current older workforce is self selected group
• Prevalence of chronic conditions set to increase
• Cumulative impact of shift work
• Cumulative impact of stress/emotional toil
• Need for proactive OH services
• Risk assessment

RCN concerns about service awareness
“The challenge of an ageing workforce is not a new one, and
is one that the RCN has raised, and given attention to
repeatedly over recent years. However, the nature of the
challenge has changed. Historically, organisations needed
ways to tempt older and retired staff back into the
workforce; now the challenge is to ensure that the increasing
numbers of older staff in the health service are enabled to
work safely, efficiently and productively.”

RCN survey findings
• More than 5% of RCN members are aged over 60 and 67 per
cent of those are in a membership category that indicates they
may be undertaking paid employment.
• 77 % of respondents to our 2013 employment survey did not
feel they would be capable of continuing to work until they
were 68 years old.
• 49 % of retired members who responded to our targeted
Working longer survey had returned to health care
employment after retirement.
• Shorter hours, often supplemented by pension income, flexible
working and reduced or no night shifts were the most
important issues that made a return to work possible, although
management support and a less physically demanding and
stressful role also scored highly.
• 59 % of these returned retired respondents said these
conditions were not available in their previous pre-retirement

11:25 - 11:40
Mid-morning break
#EWL17

Workplace practice
Dr Ewan
Carr
renEWL
Prof. Wendy
Loretto
Uncertain Futures
Research Consortium
#EWL17

Overcoming Inequalities: Addressing
barriers to extending working lives
Wendy Loretto: on behalf of the Uncertain Futures
consortium
5th April 2017

118
Older workers regarded as a ‘problem’ (DWP, 2014)
And as ‘untapped potential’ (e.g. Loretto et al, 2005; Gardiner
2014, Altmann, 2015)
 0.6m older women working FT = +£20bn to GDP
 0.6m older women working PT = +£9bn to GDP
Andy Briggs (Aviva; Business Champion for older workers)
February 2017
 Every UK employer called on to increase the number of
people aged 50-69 they employ by 12% within 5 years
 UK employers tasked with removing age bias in retention,
progression and recruitment
Context for workplace practices

Statistics show:
 Modest rise in OW employment
 Mainly because of retention, not recruitment
 Very little flexible working/retirement
So, how much is really changing?
 Preliminary findings from our case studies
119

Management challenges and
opportunities
 Policy changes over the last decade and a half put the onus on
employers to manage an extended or fuller working life.
 Concerns about discussing retirement in the context of age
discrimination legislation.
 Retreat of management from managing later working lives.
 Move from ‘retirement’ to ‘resignation’.
 Commercial pressures mean that there are no ‘safe havens’ for
older workers any more.
 Some/few examples of gearing up health and safety or
wellbeing initiatives.
 Plenty of age stereotypes about the benefits and
disadvantages of an ageing workforce.

Attitudes of older workers themselves
 Retirement not resignation
 Expectations or experiences of discrimination –
current versus different job
 Stereotyping of young and old
 Reduced capability and health limitations
 Anger/frustration and fear
 Making way for younger workers

Where next?
Introducing and reinforcing workplace practice to challenge
inequalities
 Challenging stereotypes
 Don’t avoid retirement
 Invest in mid-career and later-life workers
 Promote flexible working
 Careful to avoid ‘two-tier’ workforces
 Awareness of competing demands on OW time and interests –
caring and rise of grandparenting
 Balance between age-specific and generic interventions
122

123
THANK-YOU!
If you’d like more information on any of these issues,
please see our project website:
https://www.kent.ac.uk/extendingworkinglives/

Response
Patrick Thomson
Senior Programme Manager
Centre for Ageing Better
#EWL17

Overcoming Inequalities:
Addressing barriers to extending working
lives
Patrick Thomson
April 2017

What do retired people miss about work?
Later Life in 2015 survey of those aged 50+ (Centre for Ageing Better, Ipsos MORI 2015)

Older workers look for employment that is personally meaningful, flexible, intellectually
stimulating, sociable, age-inclusive and offers any adjustments needed for health
conditions and disabilities.
Principles for managing older workers effectively apply to staff of any age
But not everyone enjoys the same opportunities or access…
There are very few differences between the preferences of older and young
workers

0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
I need to earn
money
I think I'm too young
to stop
I enjoy the work I do
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
Felt ready to retire I reached state
pension age
Onset or
development of ill
health/disability
AB C1 C2 DE
Those retired: ‘What are the main reasons why you
retired when you did?’
Those working: ‘What is the main reason you are
not yet retired?’
Later Life in 2015 survey of those aged 50+ (Centre for Ageing Better, Ipsos MORI 2015)
Inequalities in work and retirement

Those in work are feeling less secure

Swimming against the tide
Source: DWP Information, Governance and Security Directorate; CESI calculations. (June 2011 - June 2015)
Work Programme sustained job outcomes as a proportion of referrals

Insight and co-design work in Greater Manchester
Video link:

Response
Denise Keating
CEO
Employers Network for Equality and Inclusion
#EWL17

Extending Working Lives:
Overcoming Inequalities
Denise Keating, CEO

About enei
 Foremost UK employers network for D&I
 260+ employer Members, representing over 25%
of employees in medium and large organisations
 Strategic themes:
 Excellence in D&I Practice
 Global D&I Culture
 Inclusive Leadership
 Unconscious Bias

Older Workers – key policy areas
 Extending working lives
 Removal of the Default Retirement Age
 Increase in State Pension Age
 Fuller working lives
 Improving participation of those 50+

Workforce age structure 2002-2032

Changes to Working Age Population
2012-2022

Factors affecting older workers’
employment
 Health conditions, disability and sickness absence
 Sector and occupation
 Skills
 Caring responsibilities

The importance of keeping skills updated

What employers can do
 Targeted health education and interventions
 Ongoing skills training
 Provision for carers
 Flexible/agile working

Contact
 www.enei.org.uk
 denise.keating@enei.org.uk

Response from Co-Chair of
DWP Fuller Working Lives
Business Strategy Group
Yvonne Sonsino
Innovation Leader
Mercer Europe and Pacific
#EWL17

Policy
Dr Emily
Murray
renEWL
Prof. Chris
Phillipson
Uncertain Futures
Research Consortium
#EWL17

Session 3: Unequal Impact of EWL Policy
Emily Murray, MSc PhD
Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, UCL

Background
State Pension Age legislation:
Image: https://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201516/cmselect/cmworpen/899/89905.htm

Background
Life expectancy for 65-year-olds by sex and country, 1991–1993 to 2012–
2014

Message
It will be the
Healthy,
Professional workers
Those with no family obligations
Who live in local areas with job
opportunities
who will BE ABLE to work longer.

1. Social class matters for
EWL.
Message

1. Socioeconomic inequalities in EWL
Healthy life expectancies at the age of 50 by occupational social class and sex
Zaninotto P et al. ELSA Wave 7 Report (Chapter 4), October 2016.

Carr E et al. [In Preparation ].

2. Family matters for EWL.
Message

Carr E et al. J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. 2016 Dec 7 [Epub].
2. Family context matters (carers)

2. Family context matters (carers)
Extended Working vs. Social Care
Average daily minutes of adult care provided by those aged 8
or over by age group

3. local area context matters
for EWL.
Message

Shelton N et al. [Under Review].
3. Local area matters

4. All factors matter
independently.
Message

4. Both Local area & Health matter
* Adjusted for age, sex, social class, ethnicity, housing tenure.
1.00
2.00
3.00
4.00
5.00
6.00
7.00
8.00
Low Medium High Low Medium High Low Medium High
Oddsoutofwork2011
Fairly Good Health Poor HealthGood Health
Murray E et al. Eur J Public Health 2016 Feb;

Summary
 These groups are more likely to not extend work:
 Manual occupations.
 Lower educated.
 In ill health (not just disabled).
 Family obligations (particularly new carers).
 ‘Northerners’ (vs ‘Southerners)’.

Implications
It will be the
Healthy,
Professional workers
with no family obligations
who live in local areas with job
opportunities
who will BE ABLE to work longer.

Implications
If going to keep raising SPA,
we need policies & programmes to:
1. Support vulnerable groups to stay in work.
2. For people who have to stop work, we need
to mitigate the impact of their early exit from
the work force.

Older workers & inequalities in
extending working life
Chris Phillipson
SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES
MANCHESTER INSTITUTE FOR COLLABORATIVE
RESEARCH INTO AGEING
THE UNIVERSITY OF MANCHESTER

AREAS FOR DISCUSSION
• Tensions in extending working life
• Brief summary of context
• Policy interventions

Tensions in extended working
• Equalities legislation
• No default RA
• Increasing SPA

Tensions in extended working
• Health inequalities
• Wide variations in HLE
• Increase in work
insecurity
• Equalities legislation
• No default RA
• Increasing SPA

Source: OECD Economic Outlook.
Table 1: Labour Force Participation among men 55-64:
Selected Countries (1965-2015) (%)
%
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
1965 1995 2000 2015
1965 1995 2000 2015
86 59 61 71
76 42 44 55
84 55 52 75
88 70 61 82
93 62 64 71

Figure 1: Last year in employment: all adults aged 50-64 (%)
GM Local Authorities
Last worked 26
years or more ago
(including never)
Last worked
between 11 and
25 years ago
Last year of
work within
last 10 years
In employment
Office for National Statistics 2011 Census: Aggregate Data (England and Wales).

MEN WOMEN
Holland 63 Holland 62
Germany 62 Germany 61
UK 61 UK 61
Spain 61 Spain 61
Belgium 61 Belgium 60
Greece 60 France 60
France 60 Greece 59
European Social Survey (Hofäcker 2015)
Table 2: Mean desired retirement ages (men & women)
selected European countries: 45 +
(Economically Active)

‘EXTENDING’ or a ‘FULLER’ WORKING LIFE
Shift the debate from ‘extending working life’ to
a ‘fuller working life’
‘Fuller’ may be seen in quantitative terms
(lengthening working lives) but ‘qualitative’
(improving the quality of working life)
dimension may be more important

Achieving fuller working lives
• Managing work-ending
• Managing employment
• Managing training
• Managing inequalities

Managing work-ending
• Problem: removing DRA/Raising SPA creates a
‘zone’ of uncertainty about when and how to leave
employment: potential for discrimination,
inadequate advice & preparation, uncertainty
amongst employers about giving advice.
• Solution: Organisations need to see the
management of ‘work-ending’ as a central HR
responsibility but important this is done with TUs
and representative bodies. Organisation context –
workforce reductions, technological changes –
creates uncertainties.

Managing employment
• Problem: Advancing SPA in the absence of
secure/high quality employment may lead to
> inequalities in middle/later years
• Solution: Recognise that increase in older
workers will lead to expansion of precarious
employment but match this with
corresponding rights for vulnerable groups –
especially those displaced from lifetime
employment (e.g. access to training, living
wage, guaranteed hours)

Managing training
• Problem: Training is on the decline at the
same time as working life is being extended.
Danger of people being pushed into low-
skilled jobs/marginalised in the workplace

Figure 2: Proportion reporting taking part in formal
education or training in the last 12 months (50 plus)
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
%
50-59 60-69
70+ All
Source: ELSA w1-w5

Managing training
• Further training as a legal entitlement for those
changing careers or moving into ‘bridging’ forms of
employment
• More imaginative use of e-learning/distance learning
to assist those working from home & those juggling
work & caregiving responsibilities
• Specific obligations placed upon employers to expand
training and learning as a precondition for creating
part-time and related forms of employment
• Encouraging a more prominent role for universities
and colleges in workforce development

Managing inequalities?
• Raising pension ages may reinforce social inequalities
(those with least need most likely to remain in the
labour market) (i.e. those with more education and
better health).
• Raising pension ages may reinforce health inequalities
(Phenomenon of ‘job lock’ – people forced to stayed at
work despite health and other problems) (Benjamin et
al., 2008)
• Raising pension ages may reinforce income inequalities
(those with lower life expectancy funding the pensions
of those with higher life expectancy).

Tackling inequality
• Allowing people with 45 years of National
Insurance (NI) contributions to claim a full State
Pension
• Allowing early access to an unreduced State
Pension (e.g. for those in receipt of Employment &
Support Allowance) n.b employment rate of 42%
for those with a disability; 81% non-disabled.
• Allowing people with caring responsibilities to
receive their State Pension early unreduced.
(Pension Policy Institute, 2016)

Extending work and the social division of
welfare
Later pension ages are reinforcing the ‘social division
of welfare’ identified by Titmuss in the 1950s: ‘The
direction in which the forces of social and fiscal policy
[are] moving raised fundamental issues of justice and
equality.…
Already it is possible to see two nations in old age;
greater inequalities in living standards after work
than in work; two contrasting social services for
distinct groups based on different principles, and
operating in isolation of each other as separate,
autonomous, social instruments of change’ (Titmuss
1958: 74).

UNCERTAIN FUTURES: MANAGING LATE-CAREER
TRANSITIONS AND EXTENDED WORKING LIFE
This paper is presented as part of the Uncertain Futures
Programme. The research was funded by the ESRC Ref
ES/L002949/1. Members of the Consortium: Professor
Sarah Vickerstaff (PI), Dr Ben Baumberg-Geiger, Dr.
Mariska van der Horst and Dr Sue Shepherd (Kent); Dr
Andrew Weyman and Dr David Wainwright (Bath); Dr
Mark Robinson (Leeds Metropolitan); Professor Chris
Phillipson (Manchester); Professor Wendy Loretto (
Edinburgh); Dr. David Lain (Brighton); Dr Joanne Crawford
(Institute of Occupational Medicine); Dr Charlotte Clark
and Dr Amanda Fahy (Queen Mary, London) and Sally-
Marie Bamford (International Longevity Centre, UK).

Department for Work and Pensions (2014) Fuller Working Lives: Background Evidence. DWP
Komp, K. et al. (2010) Paid work between 60 and 70 years in Europe: a matter of socio-economic
status?’ Int.Jrnl.of Ageing and Later Life. 5, 45-75
McDonald, L. & Donahue, P (2011) Retirement Lost? Canadian Journal on Aging, 30, 401-422
Phillipson, C (2013) Ageing Polity Press
Siegrist, J. and Wahrendorf, M. (2010) Quality of Work, Health and Retirement. The Lancet,
Vol. 374, 1872-1873
Standing, G (2011) The Precariat Bloomsbury
van Solinge, H and Henkens, K (2014) Work-related factors as predictors in the retirement
decision-making process of older workers in the Netherlands Ageing and Society 34, 1551-1574
Vickerstaff, S. (2010) Older workers: The ‘unavoidable’ obligation of extending our working lives.
Sociology Compass: 4, 869-879
Vickerstaff, S., Phillipson, C. & Wilkie, R. (eds) (2013) Work, Health and Well-Being: The Challenges
of Managing Health at Work. Policy Press
Wise, D. (2010) Facilitating Longer Working Lives: international evidence on why and how.
Demography, 47: S131-S149
SELECTED REFERENCES

Response
Fiona Thom
Economic Adviser
DWP Fuller Working
Lives Team
Russell Taylor
DWP Fuller Working
Lives Team
#EWL17

Fuller Working Lives
Policy Response and Evidence Base – April 2017

193Department for Work & Pensions
Fuller Working Lives - Mission Statement
To support individuals aged 50 years and over to
remain in and return to the labour market and
tackle the barriers to doing so.
The FWL strategy has an ambition to increase the
retention, retraining and recruitment of older workers
by bringing about a change in the perceptions and
attitudes of employers, and to challenge views of
working in later life and retirement amongst
individuals.
The Strategy adopts a new approach - it is led by
Employers who rightly see themselves as the ones
who understand the business case and can drive
change.
The Strategy sets out why it’s important for people to
have Fuller Working Lives for Employers and
Individuals.
The Strategy also sets out action Government is
taking to support older workers remain in the labour
market.

The FWL evidence base underpins the FWL Strategy
• New analysis and evidence is presented in relation to:
– how individuals, employers and the economy can benefit from FWL; and
– the key factors associated with people working later in life, such as health,
caring responsibilities and relevant skills.
The paper also presents what we know about the attitudes of both employers
and individuals towards working later in life, drawing on four research
reports published Dec 2016 – Feb 2017:
Attitudes to working in later life: analysis of British Social Attitudes Survey
2015.
Older workers and the workplace: evidence from the Workplace Employment
Relations Survey.
Sector-based work academies and work experience trials for older claimants:
combined quantitative and qualitative findings.
Employer experiences of recruiting, retaining and retraining older workers:
qualitative research.

WHY IS FWL IMPORTANT?

The UK, along with other developed countries, is currently in a period
of demographic change…
The increase in the proportion of the population aged 50 years and over highlights the
important role that older workers play in the labour market.
Population 16-24
-279,000 (-3.9%)
Population 25-49
-13,000 (-0.1%)
Population 50-64
763,000 (6.1%)
Population 65+
1,137,000 (9.5%)
Source: ONS 2014-based population projections
Projected change in UK population – 2017 to 2022:

…and increases in the average age of leaving the labour market are
not keeping pace with the increases in life expectancy.
Average age of exit from the labour market and cohort life expectancy at 65 years:
60
65
70
75
80
85
90
95
1950
1960
1970
1980
1990
2000
2010
2020
2030
2040
2050
2060
Age
Year
UK - Female Labour Market exit age UK - Female cohort life expectancy at 65
UK - Male Labour Market exit age UK - Male cohort life expectancy at 65
Sources:
Life Expectancy - ONS 2014-based projections.
Average Exit Age - Blöndal, S. and S. Scarpetta (1999), ONS Pension Trends and LFS Q2 Analysis.

As people approach SPa, employment rates decline and economic
inactivity rates rise, as people leave the labour market ‘early’…
Economic activity by single year of age (July 2015-June 2016):
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
50 52 54 56 58 60 62 64 66 68 70
ProportionofPopulationatGivenAge
Age
Males
Employed Unemployed Inactive (Sick or Disabled) Inactive (Looking after home/family) Inactive (Retired/Other)
Source: APS July 2015 - June 2016.
Note: The lighter bars indicate ages at and above the 2016 State Pension age (Men - 65 years old, women 63 years old).
50 52 54 56 58 60 62 64 66 68 70
Age
Females
Over half of men and women are not in work in the year before reaching SPa.
Moreover, one in four men and one in three women reaching SPa have not worked for
five years or more.

OUR FUTURE RESEARCH AND
ANALYSIS

Our key research questions for FWL…
What should we do to support people to remain in and return to
work in later life?
Focussing on:
• Labour market transitions for individuals in later life
• Incentives and decisions to work in later life
• Informal care and impacts
• Inequalities between social economic groups
• How and when do people plan for later life
• What are individual and employer attitudes to work in later life,
• What works for the retention, retraining and recruitment of older
workers in the labour market

Thank You and Questions?
Fiona.Thom@dwp.gsi.gov.uk
And
Russell.Taylor@dwp.gsi.gov.uk
View our Evidence base at
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fuller-working-lives-evidence-base-2017
Strategy:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/587654/fuller-
working-lives-a-partnership-approach.pdf

OTHER SLIDES IF NEEDED

Individuals can be split into three groups in terms of their economic
status: employed, unemployed and economically inactive.
Economic labour market status, individuals aged 50-SPa:
72%
25%
3%
19%
81%
45%
55%
40%
29%
16%
14%Source: APS July 2015 – June 2016

There are almost one million individuals aged 50-64 years old that are
not in employment but state that they are willing or would like to
work.
This is made up of 300,000 individuals that are unemployed, 40,000 individuals who
are seeking a job but were not available to start work in the next two weeks and
600,000 individuals who are economically inactive but report they would like to work
Reasons for not looking for work, individuals aged 50-64, who are economically inactive but are
willing to or would like to work:
Other
110,000
19%
Looking after home
or family
97,000
16%
Temporarily sick or
injured
38,000
7%
Long term sick or
disabled
312,000
52%
Believes no Jobs
13,000
2%
Not started Looking
26,000
4%
Source: APS July 2015 - June 2016

It is important to understand the factors and potential barriers for
individuals to working in later life…
Reason for leaving last job, individuals aged 50-64 who are not in work1:
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%Proportionofthosethatlefttheirlastjobinthelast8
years Men Women
…these include ‘voluntary’ reasons such as ‘early’ retirement, and
‘involuntary’ reasons such as poor health, caring and redundancy.

Individuals who work longer can enjoy additional income and State
Pension contributions…
The evidence on interactions between health and work for those in employment is
mixed, but research indicates that appropriate paid work is linked to good health
outcomes.

Employers are largely positive about older workers…
Resent research with employers highlights that older workers are described as
loyal, reliable, committed and conscientious, with valuable business and life
experience to offer the organisation (IFF 2017).
Polling research from 2015 highlighted that employers value older workers in
their workforce
• over three quarters of employers believed the experience of workers over 50
was the main benefit of having them in their organisation;
• 65 per cent highlighted the reliability of older workers;
• 21 per cent said older workers were more productive, whilst 68 per cent
thought they were equally productive to other age groups.
Similarly, quantitative research conducted on workplaces across the UK
stressed that the age composition of private sector workplaces does not have
a sizeable role to play in explaining their performance. Additionally, having
more older workers does not impact on workplace financial performance or
quality of outputs (NIESR 2017).

Yet, research has also highlighted problems…
• Equal opportunities policies have become more widespread, but practices
have not. In 2011, three per cent of workplaces had special polices to
encourage applications from older workers, down from 5 per cent in 2004. With
only 17 per cent of workplaces monitoring recruitment by age.
• Flexible working arrangements are offered on a case-by-case basis. They are
more likely to be made for long-standing employees than for new entrants.
Flexibility is less likely to be available to workers in physically demanding roles,
which tend to be lower paid.
• Line managers don’t always have the skills required to ensure older workers
feel comfortable discussing issues related to ageing.
• Employers reported that there wasn’t any age-related bias in their
recruitment. However there were some concerns. Additionally, attributes such
as loyalty and experience, are difficult to effectively demonstrate at a job
interview. (NIESR 2017; IFF 2017)
Employers are aware in general of an ageing population, but an ageing workforce is
not yet a prominent concern and only few employers are taking active steps to change
their policies and practices to take this into account.

Economic activity by single year of age 20 – 70 years old , Males, July 2015 - June 2016
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 36 38 40 42 44 46 48 50 52 54 56 58 60 62 64 66 68 70
Age
Employed Unemployed Inactive (Sick or Disabled) Inactive (Looking after home/family) Inactive (Retired + Other)
Notes:
1. The lighter bars indicate ages at and above the 2016 State Pension age.
2. Due to small sample sizes at ages 20-21 and 67 and over, responses for Unemployed, Inactive (Sick or Disabled), Inactive (Looking after
home/family) and Inactive (Retired/Other) have all been grouped into the Inactive (Retired/Other) category.

Economic activity by single year of age 20 – 70 years old, Females, July 2015 - June 2016
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 36 38 40 42 44 46 48 50 52 54 56 58 60 62 64 66 68 70
Age
Employed Unemployed Inactive (Sick or Disabled) Inactive (Looking after home/family) Inactive (Retired + Other)
Notes:
1. The lighter bars indicate ages at and above the 2016 State Pension age.
2. Due to small sample sizes at ages 67 and over, responses for Unemployed, Inactive (Sick or Disabled), Inactive (Looking after home/family) and
Inactive (Retired/Other) have all been grouped into the Inactive (Retired/Other) category.

The employment rate of individuals aged 50 years and over has
been increasing over the past two decades…
57.5%
Employment Rate
70.6%
38.5%
Inactivity Rate
26.9%
6.5%
Unemployment Rate 3.4%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
1996 2001 2006 2011 2016
Rate
Year
Source: LFS Q2 analysis
…yet has only recently returned to the rate last seen in the 1970s.

Proportion of people employed that are self-employed and/or work part time:
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
18-24 25-49 50-64 65+ 18-24 25-49 50-64 65+
Self Employed Part Time
Percentageoftheagegroupthatareemployed
2016 2006
Source: LFS Q2 2016 and Q2 2006
Note: An individual in employment is classified as either full time or part time. Any individual in employment
(whether full time or part time) can be classified as self-employed.
Over the past ten years, there have been changes in ways of working
in the labour market, including an increase in self-employment and
flexible working…
The proportion of individuals reporting that they are self-employed increases with
age; the majority of work taking place post-SPa is part time and/or self-employed.

Key sectors for employment of older workers include public admin,
education and health, retail and manufacturing and construction.
It is not possible to predict the future of the labour market, particularly in the current
economic climate. However, it is likely that the UK workforce in 2030 will be more
multi-generational, as well as older and female. It is also predicted that technology will
be universal, jobs more fluid and the global labour market highly competitive.
Employment by sector for individuals aged 50-64 years, by gender (SIC codes):
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
Public admin, education and health (O,P&Q)
Distribution, hotels and restaurants (G,I)
Banking and finance (K,L,M&N)
Other services (R,S,T&U)
Manufacturing (C.)
Transport and communication (H,J)
Construction (F)
Agriculture, forestry and fishing (A)
Energy and water (B,D&E)
Proportion of individuals in employment
Female
Male
Source: APS July 2015 to June 2016

Internationally, the UK performs above average for older worker
employment rates, but there remains room for improvement…
International comparison of employment rates for 55-64 year olds, OECD, 2005 and 2015
OECD countries such as New Zealand, Sweden and Iceland have employment rates
for 55-64 years olds of above 70 per cent. This is compared with the UK’s rate of 62.2
per cent.
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
EmploymentRate
Country
2015 2005
Source: OECD Labour Market Statistics (2016)

• It is estimated that 0.7 million (36 per cent) of the two million individuals who
left their job in the last eight years and are currently not working did so due
to retirement.
• Those retiring before SPa may not, in reality, have enough income to
maintain the standard of living they would like, as life expectancy
increases.
• These individuals can have the skills and experience that employers
demand and could benefit the economy should they remain in the
labour market.
• The Government is committed to helping people achieve financial
security in later life.
• Attitudes to retirement are beginning to change:
• Recent analysis of the British Social Attitudes Survey showed that
nearly two thirds (65 per cent) of all employees interviewed said that
they expect to retire in their 60s and 17 per cent expect to retire in
their 70s. Those in younger age groups were more likely to say they
expect to retire in their 70s (37 per cent of 18-24s, 21 per cent of 25-
34s) (BSAS 2016)
The main reason that individuals aged 50-64 report leaving their last
job is ‘retirement’…

The main reason for ‘involuntary’ labour market exit is poor health…
Proportion of population with long term health conditions, by age and number of conditions:
20%
25%
44%
47%
34%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
50%
18-24 25-49 50-64 65+ All
Proportionofthepopulationinagegroup
Three or more long-term health
conditions
Two long-term health conditions
One long-term health conditions
Source: APS July 2015 to June 2016
…and the prevalence of health conditions and disabilities increases with
age.

Caring responsibilities are also a significant barrier to employment…
Recent research suggests that only a third of employers (34 per cent) have a formal,
written policy or an informal, verbal policy in place to support carers in their
workplace.
Proportion of the adult population with informal caring responsibilities, by age and gender:
25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% 5% 10% 15%
70+
65-69
60-64
55-59
50-54
45-49
40-44
35-39
25-34
16-24
Total
Proportion of population in age group
Male
Female
Source: Family Resource Survey 2014/15

…as are a lack of skills…
Continued adult learning is set to be increasingly important as people have longer
working lives.
Proportion of individuals in employment that had participated in a training course in
the last four weeks, by age and duration of training:
3%
5% 6%
5%
3% 1%
10%
5%
3%
0%
2%
4%
6%
8%
10%
12%
14%
16%
18%
20%
18-24 25-49 50-64
Proportionofagegroupinemployment
Age
More than 1 week/Ongoing
Unknown
Less than 1 week
Source: LFS 2016 - Q1 and Q2 average.

Older workers do not take jobs from younger workers…
OECD employment rates of younger and older workers:
Austria Canada
Germany
Greece
Iceland
Korea
Netherlands
New Zealand
Sweden
Switzerland
Turkey
UK
USA
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
30 40 50 60 70 80 90
Employmentrate,age15-24(percent)
Employment rate, age 55-64 (per cent)
Source: OECD Employment Data, Q2 2016
…and research shows that adding one year to everyone’s working life
could increase GDP by one per cent per year (equivalent to £18bn in
2015), after a period of transition.

Response
Caroline
Abrahams
Charity Director
Age UK
#EWL17

14:25 - 14:40
Mid-afternoon break
#EWL17

Address from John Cridland
and Q&A
John Cridland
Independent Reviewer of the State Pension Age
#EWL17

State Pension Age
Independent Review
John Cridland CBE
Independent Reviewer
224

225
State Pension age review
Government
Actuary
Independent
Review
Government review
(published May 2017)

226
Consultation
• Over 150 responses to public consultation
• Over 100 meetings with key stakeholders
• Visited and held stakeholder
events across the country
including Belfast, Blackpool,
Cardiff, Edinburgh,
Liverpool and London

227
State Pension age review: Three
Pillars
• Affordability
• Fairness
• Fuller Working Lives

229
Regional variation in life
expectancy

235
Patterns of pension outcomes

236
Affected groups
• Carers
• People with ill health or disability
• Self-employed
• Black, Asian and minority ethnic groups
• Women

237
Setting the State Pension age

238
Key principles
• Universal State Pension age
• Up to one third of adult life
• Ten years’ notice
• Fair pace of change

239
Timetable
• Recommend that State Pension age
rises to 68 over the two year period
2037-2039
• Future increases should not begin
before 2047, assuming there are no
exceptional changes in the data

240
Sustainable funding
• Recommended changes to timetable
reduce spending to 6.7% of GDP in
2066/7
• If further savings are needed,
recommend withdrawing the triple lock
in the next Parliament – further reduces
spending to 5.9% of GDP in 2066/7

242
Smoothing the transition
• New mid-life MOT
• Means-tested benefit available one
year before SPa to support those who
are unable to work longer through ill
health or caring
• Adjusted conditionality for Universal
Credit

243
• Post-SPa partial drawdown of SP
• Enabling older workers to become
apprentice mentors and trainers
• Statutory Carers’ Leave for those with
caring responsibilities

244
• Option for couples to share private
pension pots
• Government to directly communicate
changes in SPa to those affected

Panel Q&A
Dr Joanne
Crawford
Uncertain Futures
Research Consortium
Dr Brian
Beach
Research Fellow
ILC-UK
Prof. Stephen
Stansfeld
renEWL
Rachael
Saunders
Business in the
Community

The Future of Ageing
Conference
London, 29th November 2017

Overcoming Inequalities: Addressing barriers to extending working lives

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