Will you have a fulfilled retirement?

When people of my generation (I’m 64) think of retirement they have history to consider. The life stages used to be straightforward. Many went straight from school to work at 16 (with my birthday being the end of August I worked for several weeks aged 15). A small percentage went on to university.

Many of the academic papers I reviewed for my doctoral studies focused on people in professions who could continue in work to suit themselves. This can lead to a fulfilled later life with a new career path, time to volunteer on their terms, time to find meaning beyond the workplace.

But not everyone is able to seek a life of meaning. If you don’t have good private pension provision and need to continue to pay rent, it can be a time of hardship.

Their research has identified that 20% of this age group (2.6 million people) will experience poor health, poor finances, loneliness, and isolation.

For some people retirement is not an option, they don’t have enough savings and need to continue working even though it may aggravate their health. Many women had expected to get their state pension at 60, and for some people they have health issues which mean they can’t continue in work and their plans have gone awry.

Wealth inequalities are widening. These figures are staggering.

With the removal of a fixed retirement age, people are encouraged to work longer. But is this right for all. It’s fine for those of us who work in an office, with interesting work and the ability to work flexibly. But what about people with physically demanding jobs, such as tradespeople who have to crawl around on their hands and needs or whose job involves standing on their feet all day.

Individuals shouldn’t be made to feel a failure because they need to stop working. Perhaps more work should be done on making it easier for people to stay in work, and to move to less physically demanding work. Perhaps something to be considered by employers in a midlife career review?

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