Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Dedication
- Contents
- List of figures and tables
- Acknowledgements
- one Introduction: reconstructing retirement
- Part One The reconstruction of retirement policy
- Part Two Reconstructing employment and retirement behaviour
- Part Three Current paths and policy alternatives
- Statistical appendix
- References
- Index
one - Introduction: reconstructing retirement
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 April 2022
- Frontmatter
- Dedication
- Contents
- List of figures and tables
- Acknowledgements
- one Introduction: reconstructing retirement
- Part One The reconstruction of retirement policy
- Part Two Reconstructing employment and retirement behaviour
- Part Three Current paths and policy alternatives
- Statistical appendix
- References
- Index
Summary
Introduction
Increasingly, it is being claimed that we need to ‘rethink’ retirement. Ros Altmann, recently appointed UK Pensions Minister, has stated that:
As people are living longer, we need to re-think what ‘retirement’ looks like. This is not about forcing people to work on, but supporting those who want to maintain a fuller working life.… Our concept of retirement and ageing in the workforce must move with the times as people's lives and the population demographics change. (Altmann, 2015: 9)
In the UK, such arguments have led to the introduction of a ‘Redefining Retirement Division’ in the Department for Work and Pensions. The argument is clear and is found in other countries, such as the US. Retirement in your mid-60s, or earlier, may have made sense in the past, when life expectancy was much shorter and people worked in more physically arduous jobs. However, this is no longer feasible, it is argued, because of population ageing and the fact that these individuals will have to be supported financially for a longer period of retirement. In 2000, 16% of the population was aged 65+ in the UK; this has been projected to rise to 20% in 2020, and 25.6% in 2040. The US has a younger population but will also see a rise in the share of over 65s, from 12.7% in 2000, to 17% in 2020 and to 22.4% in 2040 (Bonoli and Shinkawa, 2005: 4).
Working longer is a positive development, it is argued, because it will keep individuals active and be beneficial for their health and mental well-being (Altmann, 2015: 18). In the US, this has been linked to generational debates about baby boomers, those individuals born after the Second World War. These individuals, who are now approaching or over age 65, are different from previous generations. They are more active and educated and they positively resist the notion of taking full retirement at a fixed age. Rix (2008: 77, emphasis in original) sums up the argument that is made:
Boomers, it has been maintained, are going to reinvent and/or revolutionise retirement. Not for them is an early labor force exit to full and permanent retirement. Rather, they will work longer, perhaps much longer, than their parents and combine work and leisure in new and more rewarding ways.
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- Reconstructing RetirementWork and Welfare in the UK and USA, pp. 1 - 18Publisher: Bristol University PressPrint publication year: 2016