The UK’s National Statistics Office (ONS) has warned that workers between the ages of 50 and 65 leaving the workforce could have a negative impact on both people’s finances and the wider economy.
The Living Longer: The Impact of Home Work on Older Workers study estimates that if the employment rate of people in the age group coincided with that of those aged 35-49, it would add more than 5% to the gross domestic product of the United Kingdom (GDP), which amounts to about 88 billion pounds, pariteni reported.
According to the study, the solution is to continue flexible employment as a way to maintain the employment of older workers, noting that previous surveys from June and July 2020 found that those who work entirely from home are more likely to to retire later, compared to those who still have to cope with a trip to work.
The previous study also found that older workers aged 50 to 69 who work from home believe that this improves work-life balance and well-being.
The share of older workers who planned to work from home after the pandemic was 22%, which according to ONS is above pre-pandemic levels.
The report found that 17.9% of 50-year-old women were economically inactive after stopping work, compared with 9.6% of men of the same age.
Meanwhile, among 64-year-olds, 58.6% of women were economically inactive, compared to 44.9% of men. Hargreaves Lansdowne, a senior retirement analyst, Helen Morrissey, said: “Anything that allows people to stay in work longer and benefit from increased income and pension contributions is welcome.
Leaving the workforce early can have a huge effect on someone’s financial viability at retirement, as well as on their physical and mental well-being. “
“These data show that moving from work to home has had a positive effect on older workers in terms of their health and work-life balance. Lack of daily travel to the office frees up time and can also mean that you are more “Less exposed to the disease. This may mean that people can work longer than they would otherwise work,” the expert added.
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