Tag Archives: pensioners

Hard-up retirees want to continue work, reveals new Prudential study

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London: Prudential has revealed that two in five (40 per cent) people planning to
retire this year would be happy to work past 65 if they had the chance.
Prudential’s Class of 2012 study, which looks at the finances and
expectations of those planning to retire this year, shows that 48 per cent
of men and 32 per cent of women would be happy to continue working past the
standard retirement age.
The main motivation for more than two thirds (68 per cent) of this year’s
retirees who want to stay in the workforce past 65, is a desire to remain
physically healthy and mentally active, while 39 per cent do not like the
idea of retiring and just staying at home. More than half (54 per cent)
claim that they enjoy working.
However, despite wanting to stay in work, only 13 per would choose to
continue to work full-time with their current employer. Nearly half (49 per
cent) of those retirees who want to work past 65 years old would prefer to
work part-time, either with their current employer or in a new role, in
order to strike a better work life balance.
More than one in 10 (11 per cent) of entrepreneurial retirees would consider
starting their own business after the age of 65 or earn money from a hobby
in order to keep working. Five per cent would work as charity volunteers.
Recent ONS figures show that average retirement ages are rising, with men
now retiring at an average age of 64.6, compared with 63.8 in 2004, and
women working until 62.3 years compared with 61.2 previously.
Vince Smith-Hughes, retirement expert at Prudential, said: “There is a new
retirement reality taking shape across the UK, with thousands of people
actively choosing to work past the traditional retirement age.
“The fact that so many of this year’s retirees would keep working on a
part-time basis is a strong indication that, for many, working is as much
about staying young at heart as it is about funding retirement.
“Gradual retirement is an increasing trend among pensioners, whether this
means remaining in the same job on a flexible basis or even setting up their
own business. Those retiring at 65 will face an average of nineteen years in
retirement which makes the financial and social benefits of working for
longer an even bigger draw for a new generation of industrious retirees.”
Around the country, those planning to retire this year from the East of
England were the most keen to stay part of the workforce with 54 per cent
saying that they would choose to work past 65 if they had the option. Half
(49 per cent) of Londoners and 45 per cent of people in the South East would
also like to continue to work.  
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1 in 4 middleclass pensioners will work past 70

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Nearly a quarter of middle class workers aged over 50 delaying retirement until they are at least seventy, according to new research from wealth managers Heartwood.

 

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The research further reveals that:

 

·         Almost two thirds expect to enter semi-retirement

·         Four in ten (41%) are planning to remain in work for an average of five years longer than they had originally planned.

·         Yet only 31% of retired people said they had been semi-retired and on average they were in semi-retirement for less than two years prior to leaving work for good.

·         33% of higher-earning semi-retirees said they couldn’t afford to while 18% blamed the higher cost of living

·         20% said they needed to keep working in order to support their children and 18% cited the fall in the value of their pension

 

The new study by Heartwood1 suggests that semi-retirement among wealthier people is becoming an increasingly necessary and complex life stage, with nearly a quarter (24%) of middle class workers aged over 50 delaying retirement until they are at least seventy. Almost two thirds (63%) expect to enter semi-retirement and four in ten (41%) are planning to remain in work for an average of five years longer than they had originally planned. This is a growing trend, as in contrast only 31% of retired people said they had been semi-retired and on average they were in semi-retirement for less than two years prior to leaving work for good.

 

It is expected that this movement will continue over the coming years, enhanced by the announcement this week that the default retirement age in the UK has now been fully abolished, making it easier for people to put off full retirement for longer. 

 

For the majority, this is not driven by a love of their job but by concerns of their ability to fund their retirement. When asked why they were delaying full retirement, a third (33%) of higher-earning semi-retirees said they couldn’t afford to while 18% blamed the higher cost of living.  One in five (20%) said they needed to keep working in order to support their children and 18% cited the fall in the value of their pension.

 

Simon Lough, Chief Executive of Heartwood comments: “Longer periods of semi-retirement are increasingly becoming the norm amongst even wealthier people in their fifties and sixties. In many cases they are being faced with greater demands being placed on their pension pots, rises in the cost of living and unexpected financial commitments such as supporting their children for longer than they originally anticipated. 

 

“Even compared to a year ago the number of semi-retired people has grown by 43% and we would expect this trend to continue as economic pressures force people into having to generate additional income for longer, making it more important than ever to start planning as early as possible.”   

 

Heartwood offers retirement planning services, usually in parallel with investment management. These services cover the entirety of retirement planning and management from initial review and plan construction, through retirement and into ‘drawdown’2. Heartwood can provide advice on a range of pension scheme arrangements including SIPPs, SSASs, stakeholder and employer schemes, although the primary focus is on SIPP and SSAS arrangements.      

 

For further information on Heartwood, visit www.heartwoodgroup.co.uk.

 

 

1 The figures quoted in this release are based on an independent survey conducted by ICM. A total of 830 adults aged 50 and over were interviewed.

 

2 Drawdown is a form of pension arrangement that allows you to take your maximum tax free cash at the outset and defer your annuity purchase.

 

Heartwood provides integrated investment, tax and retirement planning solutions for ultra high net worth and high net worth individuals from its offices in London and the South East. Heartwood now manages and administers over £1.3 bn of funds for clients.

 


 

 

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Human body becomes more gas-guzzling with age

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Manchester: Scientists at Manchester Metropolitan University have concluded that active pensioners may not be getting enough calories to cope with increased “fuel loss” as they age.

The exercise scientists compared the walking abilities of a group of septuagenarians (average age 74) with those of people in their late 20s and found the former using more than 30% more energy to walk 100 yards at a set speed.

The increased ‘cost’ in calorific consumption is due to muscles overworking to support unstable joints and tendons and is, the researchers found, irreversible.

They also said tendons in the elderly were like an “old elastic band” – overstretching and not springing back into shape – and this too was causing over-usage of muscles.

Professor Marco Narici, Coordinator of the European-funded Better Ageing research project, said: “The elderly participants had too many muscles switched on at the same time and were seeping energy like a old car whose engine is out of tune.”

“They were quite inefficient and this is due in the main to muscles overcompensating for weak joints.”

He said the result was that the elderly tended to take smaller, more frequent steps, and tend to drag their feet; a walking pattern makes them more vulnerable to trips and falls.

The scientists, from MMU’s Institute for Biophysical and Clinical Research into Human Movement, also examined whether a 12-month programme of exercise could offset the effects of walking efficiency loss. But they found that after the training programme, the older volunteers were just as uneconomical.

Added Professor Narici: “Exercise can help build muscle mass and strength but the fitter people still consumed the same amount of energy. This, we believe, is because the main key is the way the muscles are controlled by the nervous system and not the size or bulk of the muscles per se.”

They found no difference between the walking efficiency loss between men and women.

The findings have been published in Acta Physiologica and the European Journal of Applied Physiology.

The authors are Professor Marco Narici, Dr Omar Mian and Professor Alberto Minetti at the Institute for Biophysical and Clinical Research into Human Movement, Manchester Metropolitan University.

US class action over cataract eye operations

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London: A group of elderly people left fighting for their sight following failed cataract surgery is taking leading American lens companies to court in a bid to win millions in compensation.

OAPS from across the UK suffered years of misery after major problems with the lenses used in operations to clear their cataracts.

Within months of their original surgery victims like Joan Steel, 78, from Morecambe, Lancashire, and Thomas Allcott, 70, of Tamworth in the West Midlands were struggling to see again.

And many of the elderly men and women were forced to go through second operations in a desperate bid to improve their vision.

Some even suffered further eye conditions caused by the trauma of trying to rectify their sight.

More than 300,000 cataract operations are carried out in the UK every year.

Bad packaging is thought to have contaminated lenses used in their surgery

Legal firm Birchall Blackburn represent 179 people worldwide who are taking on the American lens manufacturers in a bid to win compensation.

Eight elderly people in Britain – including Mrs Steel and Mr Allcott – face a court showdown with one specific Florida-based company, Medical Development Research, who supplied lens type SC60B-OUV which was used in their failed surgery.

But the numbers both globally and in the UK are rising all the time as more people become aware what has caused the problems with their sight.

Up to 50,000 people could have been affected by the alleged contaminated lenses worldwide. In Britain the figure could be as high as 2,400 people.

Mr Allcott, a jeweller for 50 years in Birmingham’s jewellery quarter said: “Trying to sort out my sight has taken four years of my life – but even now my vision is not the same.

“The operation on my left eye was simple enough but within months of the lens going in my vision was cloudy.

“Initially I was told my vision wouldn’t get any worse, but that was no good to me. As a jeweller I need my sight.

“I had a second operation to improve my sight which involved making an incision and replacing the lens and there was always the chance it could go wrong.

“Fortunately it went well – but I still had to spend the next two years with stitches in my eyes which was frustrating.

“I have also developed another condition which I believe is down to the surgery I have had on my eye and as a result the vision in my left eye is slightly bent.”

Mrs Steel underwent her first eye operation in 1998 and was soon suffering from cloudy vision.

Despite under going corrective laser surgery and a second operation the grandmother of two has been left with poor vision. One eye is still too painful to touch.

“I expected my vision to be improved,” she said. “Instead I have been through years of problems.

“I need help getting around now and I have hurt my legs from falling over repeatedly.”

Mr Allcott added: “I decided to fight for compensation because the last few years have been very tough.”

Duncan Stackhouse of Birchall Blackburn, said: “We still really don’t have any idea how many people have been affected by these defective lenses – the clients we are representing could just be the tip of the iceberg.

“Taking on the manufacturer through the American courts is a brave step for them to take.

“All our clients are at the stage in their lives when they should be relaxing and enjoying themselves – unfortunately, because of what has happened, they have not been able to do that.

“They should not have to sweep their suffering under the carpet and struggle on – they have every right to fight for some recompense.”