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News items from the press relevant to the 50+
Controversial reforms to public sector pensions will make ‘little or no difference’ in long-term costs to the taxpayer – and could leave some state workers even better off, a report warns today.
In a withering analysis, the Institute For Fiscal Studies dismisses the Government’s attempts to curb the ballooning bill from pensions paid to retired public sector workers.
Becky Barrow, The Daily Mail 31st January 2012Britain's oldest newsagent is still working aged 96 - and was still doing his paper round until he was 88.
Charlie Reynolds, who started delivering papers 64 years ago, still gets up at 6am every day to cycle to his family shop in Swindon, Wiltshire.
The business, Reynolds Newsagent, is now run by his son Charlie jnr, 64, who opens up at 4.45am every day and works a staggering 76 hour week
The Daily Mail, 28th January 2012The next five years will see the biggest changes ever made to women's pensions, with millions seeing their state retirement age delayed from 60 to 66 and beyond, and benefits being cut by the government and poorly performing stock markets.
The Guardian, 27th January 2012
Peter Stanford, The Telegraph 27th January 2012
Around 4.5million workers will miss out after a controversial decision by the Government to delay the biggest shake-up of pensions in a generation.
Ministers have postponed the introduction of rules which for the first time will force bosses to pay into a pension for their employees.
One of the country’s leading pension experts fears the delay will rob staff of more than £5billion in pension contributions.
Becky Barrow in The Telegraph, 26th January 2012
The Independent, 26th January 2012
Jill Insley, The Guardian, 26th January 2012
Philip Inman writes in the The Observer 22nd January 2012
'Divorce rates amongst this group of women are rising dramatically as rates fall for all other ages and our survey showed women in the single, separated and divorced groups were most likely to say the screening invitation seemed irrelevant."
by Stephen Adams, The Telegraph 23rd January 2012
Pensioner groups yesterday lined up to attack ‘outrageous’ proposals to encourage elderly homeowners to downsize into smaller properties.
Housing minister Grant Shapps wants councils to help older people move into ‘more suitable accommodation’ to allow their homes to be rented out to young families.
Under the proposals, local authorities would take responsibility for maintaining and renting the vacated properties at affordable prices, handing any profit back to the elderly owner.
Daniel Martin in the Daily Mail, 18th January 2012
The 'Attitude to Age in Britain' report warns there is a risk that negative attitudes could leave older people “isolated from opportunities”, with the “lost productivity of older workers and long term health costs of those excluded from economic activity” of potential detriment to society.
The research comes as the Supreme Court today hears a landmark legal dispute concerning the right of law firm Clarkson Wright to retire partner Leslie Seldon at the age of 65.
Although the default retirement age was removed by the government last year, the company claims that a partnership contract – which allowed for succession planning – gave its decision legal legitimacy.
People Management magazine, 17th January 2012
The report, based on analysis from the Office for National Statistics's opinions survey, looked at factors associated with age discrimination and prejudice, and compared attitudes between people in their 20s and those aged over 70.
Perceptions towards those aged over 70 were more positive than towards those in their 20s, with older people viewed as being more friendly, having higher moral standards and as being more competent than their younger counterparts.
Graham Snowdon, the Guardian 16th January 2012Louisa Peacock writes in The Telegraph, 16th January 2012
Julia Kollewe, writes in The Guardian, 16th January 2012
The highest employment rates for those aged 60 to 64 were recorded in Sweden, at 61 per cent, the United Kingdom, 44 per cent, an increase of 8 per cent over 10 years, and Estonia 42.8 per cent, according to the figures published on Friday.
The British work rate for over-60s dips to 8.5 per cent by the age of 65, which is the highest elderly employment level for any of the EU's larger and wealthier economies.
Geraldine Bedell writes in the Guardian, 12th January 2012
People under the age of 25 believe old age starts sooner than those over the age of 50, a survey of British attitudes by the Department for Work and Pensions has found.
On average, Britons believe that old age starts at 59 while youth ends at 41.It found that people over 80 believe that youth ends at 52 while old age starts at 68.
Steve Webb, the Pensions Minister, said that attitudes towards age must change due to Britain’s rapidly ageing population.
For two hours last November, the residents of a care home in the Parisian suburbs were left on their own, which resulted in an outcry from campaigners. As austerity measures sweep through the French care sector, the incident highlighted a severe shortage of staff the impact it was having on the elderly and a severe shortage of staff across the country.
The Guardian, 11th January 2012
Workers who retire this year can expect their pensions to be £3,000 less than they would have been in 2008.
Big falls on the stock- market and record low annuity rates – which determine the annual income savers can buy with their pension pots – have wreaked havoc with the retirement plans of millions.
A report from the Prudential said those retiring this year are banking on an average annual pension of £15,500 – £3,000 a year less than those who retired in 2008 and more than £1,000 a year less than last year.
The Telegraph, 11th January 2012Oh dear. Another year. Another acronym. Another social trend. Another pigeon-hole into which, if I am not careful, I am going to be unceremoniously stuffed.
Twenty-five years after being labelled a yuppie, or young upwardly mobile professional, my upward mobility has expired, ditto my youth, and I am now at grave risk of ending my days as a Weary, or “Working, Entrepreneurial and Active Retiree”. It doesn’t sound very sexy, whether you use the acronym or spell it out in full.
No slippers and cocoa for me when I reach retirement age in 2022. I will be forced to work till I drop, just to make ends meet, and so will millions of others, according to the think tank the Future Foundation, which coined the term “Wearies” in a report.
The furore over pensions gathers apace. Today, workers from 11 Unilever sites will stage a demonstration outside Unilever House in London over the company’s plans to close its final salary pension scheme.
Yesterday, Unite – the public sector’s biggest union – rejected the Government’s latest proposals to reform local government pensions, after rejecting similar changes to the NHS scheme. And last week Shell became the last FTSE 100 company to close its final salary scheme to new recruits.
For both public and private sector workers, the demise of the final salary pension scheme should not be underestimated.
Tens of thousands of council staff yesterday rejected the Government’s final offer on public sector pensions – triggering fears that a wider deal could unravel and trigger fresh strikes.
Unite’s national local authority committee turned down the proposed offer blaming Communities Secretary Eric Pickles for triggering a ‘crisis’ of confidence and trust.
Ministers claimed before Christmas that most unions had accepted a deal on pension reform that would prevent a repeat of November’s nationwide strike by public sector staff.
A new generation of “Wearies” – Working, Entrepreneurial and Active Retirees – is being created as they work into their 70s and beyond due to the pensions crisis, it is claimed. Researchers said the development will result in the traditional image of pensioners relaxing in old age being transformed because many people can no longer afford to put their feet up.
According to figures, more than half of those who have already retired said they would be prepared to do part-time work to boost their pensions.
Graeme Paton reports in the Telegraph, 8th January 2012
The number of people saving into private pensions has dropped to its lowest level for over a decade, new figures have revealed.
Just 38 per cent of working-age people are putting money aside for their retirement, exposing the extreme financial pressures facing households during the economic downturn.
The plunge in numbers saving into a pension raises the likelihood of these workers being forced to ‘work till they drop’.
The Daily Mail, 31st December 2011Studios are preparing a series of new releases for 2012 after the success of The King’s Speech proved that films aimed at older cinema-goers can be box office hits.
They include The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, which stars the cream of British acting talent as retirees who decide to live out their autumn years in an Indian palace.
Dames Maggie Smith and Judi Dench, Bill Nighy, Penelope Wilton, Celia Imrie, Tom Wilkinson and Ronald Pickup play characters who each have a different reason for upping sticks.
Press and Media
