New Middle Age has identified key issues for the 50 to retirement generation and looks to public policy makers to deliver policies to support lasting and sustainable change. We need policies to address key emerging trends: increasing longevity and better health; age related inequalities; and the complex area of over 50 employment, productivity and training. It’s time for public policy action on the issues of New Middle Age.
New Middle Age challenges public policy makers to deliver for the 50 to retirement generation.
New Middle Age calls for the recognition of a new generation – from 50 to retirement, whenever that may be – an active, skilled and productive generation with a unique contribution to make to economy and society.
New Middle Age needs a new image. A quarter of people currently in their 50s could live to be 100. So 50 is a midway, not an end point, and not the beginning of older or old age. We need policy makers to promote an image of New Middle Age as an active, skilled and productive generation – evidenced by facts and not outdated stereotypes of dependency and limited abilities.
- Two thirds of 50 to 64 year olds are in work. Over half are in professional, managerial or skilled jobs. Only 3 in every 100 are unemployed.
- A third of 50-64s are ‘economically inactive’ – not in work and not actively looking for work, but only one in ten say they are retired. Most are not working due to personal circumstances, primarily health or caring, and at least a fifth would work if they could find a suitable job.
- Nearly all 50 to 64 year olds are internet users and three quarters use a computer every day. Research has shown that having over 50s in the workforce does not reduce technology enhanced productivity.
- Only 4 in every 100 people aged 50 to 64 are widowed. Over two thirds are married, but one sixth are divorced, one eighth are single and 3 in every hundred are in civil partnerships. 1 in 8 have dependent-aged children. More detail can be found here.
New Middle Age calls for a new economic analysis and new economic strategies which will allow the unique contribution of those in New Middle Age – in terms of skills, experience and productive potential – to be fully realised.
As the population ages we will need to draw more on the resources of New Middle Age. If the skills, experience and productive potential of the 50 to retirement generation are not used to the full there will be losses to economy and society, through lost productive potential, lower tax revenues and higher benefit costs.
- The contribution of the working population aged 50 to retirement will be important to maintain economic growth as the population ages. Increasing working lives by one year could generate a 1% increase in GDP.
- Employers will need to draw on the 50 to retirement workforce to meet future labour demand. With birth rates now substantially lower than during the 1960s baby boom, demand for labour will in future no longer be met in full by new young people joining the labour market. In 2014 it was forecast that over the following 10 years there would be 13.5 million job vacancies but only 7 million school and college leavers to fill them.
- Employees will want to work longer to provide a sufficient income in retirement from savings and pensions.
- ‘Older workers’, those over 50, have skills, experience and proven productive potential. Evidence from Germany shows that productivity peaks in our 50s.
- Family carers provide care for vulnerable people who would otherwise need support from the state. New Middle Age is the peak age for caring, and providing jobs that allow them to balance work and caring will offset burgeoning social care costs.
- Employment of people aged 50 to retirement does not disadvantage or displace younger people in the workforce. Rather, evidence shows that increased employment of people over 50 may lead to increased spending and boost job creation. More detail can be found here.
New Middle Age calls for effective strategies applicable across the generations to build age equality and enhance cross-generational awareness.
Inter-generational strategies can increase effectiveness and build cross-generational awareness. Policies which make a special case for those in New Middle Age, or any generation, risk further embedding age related discrimination. But solutions may need to be tailored to meet the specific requirements of the 50 to retirement generation if their contribution is to be fully realised.
- Legislation should be implemented and enforced, and updated where necessary, to protect those in New Middle Age, and across all generations, against discrimination on the basis of their age, and where age discrimination is combined with other factors including gender, socio-economic status, ethnicity or disability.
- In employment, specific issues of age inequality can be identified in pay, recruitment and access to training. Public policy should ensure age is not a barrier to opportunity in the workplace.
- Public policy should aim to develop frameworks of legislation and good practice which offer general benefit but which can be tailored to the requirements of specific groups with particularly beneficial effect.
- An inter-generational approach is efficient as it offers one set of solutions which can be applied in different situations. It is also more equitable and has the potential to build inter-generational awareness as people of different ages see their various needs addressed by the same solutions. More detail can be found here.
New Middle Age calls for new, flexible and effective workplaces where the potential contribution and economic productivity of those aged from 50 to retirement is fully realised, to the advantage of both employers and economy.
The 50 to retirement generation is highly productive and highly skilled, as evidenced by current research, and their contribution will be essential to meeting future labour demand. But with one in three outside the workforce, more should be done to create the jobs they want to do. A new deal at work is needed to get as many of them as possible back into work.
- Better job design could create jobs that better suit more over 50s in work, especially those considering early exit from the labour market and those already outside the workforce. A variety of strategies could create jobs good for both employers and employees such as flexible working, reduced or annualised hours, remote working, job sharing and phased retirement.
- In-work training should be available to the 50 to retirement workforce to support their continued development and help them achieve their potential.
- Later life educational opportunities are needed to refresh and update skills of those who have been outside the workforce, for shorter or extended periods. They would also allow people who have elected to down-skill, perhaps due to personal circumstances, to get careers back on track when they are ready, making sure they can work to their potential. All courses should provide recognised and accredited qualifications.
- Returner programmes help workforce re-entry and more employers should be encouraged to offer them. The focus is on providing relatively short-term in-work programmes designed to re-hone skills and competencies. Current programmes often offer the prospect of continued employment. These programmes should not be age restricted but are be well suited to later career returners. More detail can be found here.
Now is the time for public policy makers to act and deliver solutions that allow us to fully exploit the potential of New Middle Age. It’s time for public policy action on the issues of New Middle Age.