Older workers are ‘struggling to save for retirement’

OLDER workers are facing “significant” challenges to their living standards and are struggling to save for retirement, a new report says.

The estimated 1.8 million over 50-year-olds in low and middle income households have suffered a “sharp income squeeze” in the wake of the financial crisis, a study found.

The Centre for Ageing Better and the Resolution Foundation said there was a surprising lack of attention to older people, even though they were more likely to vote in elections than younger adults.

Workers over the age of 50 had accounted for two-thirds of employment growth since 2010, but most earned less than the typical annual salary of £21,000, the report said.

Half of working women from low to middle income households earned less than £12,600, the study showed.

Anna Dixon, chief executive at the Centre for Ageing Better, an independent charitable foundation, said: “The ‘baby boomer’ generation is often talked about as a homogeneous group, widely reported as being wealthier and more successful than other generations, but this report sheds light on the ‘forgotten fifties’ who earn less than the average salary and who will likely struggle to save adequately for their retirement.

“Our report shows positive employment growth for this group, but incomes are still low.

“More needs to be done to ensure that people in later life are supported to progress, develop and have access to good quality roles.

“Doing so is as important for this group today as it will be for the next generation, who will also likely face even greater pressures on living standards – not least the higher cost of housing from private renting.”

David Finch of the Resolution Foundation think tank, said: “Support for families on low and middle incomes will be a key election issue, but these families inevitably face a wide range of challenges.

“The living standards concerns of a low income family with young children will be very different to those of a single person struggling to save for their impending retirement.

“Older households on modest incomes have experienced something of a jobs boom over the last two decades, but this hasn’t been enough to prevent a tight income squeeze in recent years that has left many struggling to save for their retirement.”