10 / 40
trigger to take time out to ‘re-energise’
and think, often on extended trips abroad.
Altmann believes that as people begin to
approach the traditional retirement age
the prospect of taking up a different job
is an attractive one.
3
All this reflects a huge generational
shift in the face of factors such as the
demise of the job for life, rising life
expectancy of the middle aged and
the government increasing the state
pension age. It’s also spurred by more
enlightened organisational attitudes to
job sharing and other forms of flexible
working.There are also legislative
changes giving us access to our pensions
earlier and the inexorable rise of
self-employment
4
, which is often the
neatest way to step off the corporate
treadmill while still earning an income.
Plus, for some, there may be a yearning
for greater workplace fulfilment,
perhaps realising their dream to open an
artisan bakery, buy a small vineyard in
the South of France, or take up a voluntary
role helping a local charity.As well as
10
|
THE INVESTOR
ill retiring from your full-time job mark
the end of your career? Or, will you
travel the world as a ‘grey gapper’ before
returning energised and refreshed for
a fulfilling new phase of work well into
your 70s?That’s the choice some of those
in their 50s and early 60s now have.
The practice of an employee being
pensioned off from full-time work and
disappearing from the workplace is fast
being replaced by phased retirement.
Instead of working full-time until they
leave on a full pension, older workers
are scaling back their hours or taking on
less demanding roles, thus extending
their working lives for a decade or more.
The age-old practice of retiring at 65 is
being supplanted by a lifestyle choice
of phased retirement – and that brings
a host of new financial considerations
Three in five UK workers intend to
work into retirement age, according to a
recent study by life insurer Aegon: half
expect to change the way they work,
with only one in 10 saying they will
continue to work their existing hours.
1
This gradual approach has big
advantages, saysTim Middleton,
Technical Consultant at the Pensions
Management Institute.‘It avoids a
cliff-edge retirement,’ he says,‘which
takes people straight from full-time
employment to permanent retirement,
allowing them to phase into a different
lifestyle.While retirement can be very
positive, you may miss your colleagues
and the sense of purpose that work
brings. Phased retirement gives a social
aspect and an intellectual challenge.’
2
Undeniably, it is also a chance to break
with decades of workplace routine.
When she was made government
champion for older workers in 2014,
Ros Altmann backed ‘grey gappers’,
explaining that as people enjoy longer
lives, reaching 50 could be a natural
RETIREMENT
REVOLUTION
By Victor Smart
W