UK ‘Vastly Unprepared’ for Changing and Uncertain World

The Government should develop a new ‘Lifetime Work Standard’ to be met by all employers, which guarantees flexible working, support for carers and access to training and occupational health throughout workers’ lives, according to a comprehensive report on the future of ageing.

The Future of Ageing in an Uncertain World report is published by the International Longevity Centre, supported by Brightwell, and is based on an innovative, futures-focused research project which ran over six months and explores how our experience of later life will change over the next 20 years and how the service offering for older people will need to adapt.

It covers everything from the impact of Artificial Intelligence and pensions policy to health and financial wellbeing, and says the UK is ‘vastly unprepared’ for the demographic changes that are taking place and will continue to do so over the next decades.

When it comes to work, the report talks about ongoing changes such as the increase in older women in the workforce, including those over 65. It says the proportion of women aged 50 to 64 who were economically active increased from 57.6% in 2004 to 69% in 2023, in large part driven by changes in the state retirement age. For men, the increase was slightly smaller, from 74.2% in 2004 to 77.6% in 2023.

Among people aged 65 and over, the relative increase has been even greater: the proportion of women aged 65 and over who were economically active more than doubled between 2004 and 2023, increasing from 4% to 8.9%. While older women are more likely to work part time than men, their number is falling, while the number of men working part time as they get older is rising.

In 2023, 45.7% of women aged 50 and over worked part time, compared with 19.3% of men of that age. That compares with 51.3% and 16% respectively in 2004.

The report spells out the need to keep people in work longer due to greater longevity, the risk of pensioner poverty and the fact that we spend an average of just 31 years in work, although, to qualify for a full State Pension, individuals will usually need 35 qualifying years of National Insurance contributions.

It calls for employers to offer flexible working by default wherever possible and for the development of neighbourhood co-working spaces to help build community cohesion and foster the development of relationships between colleagues both during and beyond work.

Other recommendations include:

• A plan for increasing default contribution rates into workplace pensions, including a clear roadmap for when and how contribution rates will be increased
• The widening of access to pensions for those not covered by the current arrangements, such as the self-employed
• Work to ensure the State Pension provides an adequate standard of living in retirement
• Investment in lifelong learning and training, particularly in areas such as financial and health literacy and digital skills
• The reform of the apprenticeship levy so that there are incentives for companies to support all ages in learning
• The development of Occupational Health and Learning Hubs alongside all JobCentre Plus offices to ensure everyone can access proactive occupational health support and opportunities for learning throughout their careers.

When it comes to Government, the report recommends the creation of a new ‘Lifetime Work Standard’ for employers, which guarantees flexible working arrangements, options for remote working, support for carers, and access to training and occupational health throughout workers’ lives and the introduction of a new cross-cutting Parliamentary Select Committee on demographic change to audit the extent to which the policies and programmes of government departments and non-departmental public bodies are responding to longevity.

In addition, it calls for the establishment of citizens’ panels with the power to make proposals directly to Parliament on the realities of an ageing society, with an explicit remit to review trends over a 20+ year timeframe and to ensure policy is fit for the long term.