Over 50 per cent of workers aged 55 plus planning to work beyond the state pension age, and the encouraging news is the economy needs older workers.

From a report published by the CIPD It is predicted that UK employers will need to fill an estimated 13.5 million job vacancies in the next ten years, but only 7 million young people will leave school and college over this period. Migration alone will not fill this gap – it is important that employers act to safeguard their longer-term economic success by looking at older employees in their existing workforce more openly and creatively.

Although 88 percent of employers believe that older workers can bring skills and benefits to the business, people aged over 50 are least likely to be recruited once out of work

• some recruiting managers and recruitment agencies wrongly assume there are risks in employing over 50s. However, research and employer case studies show that the majority of older workers:
• are just as productive as their younger counterparts (at least up to age 70);
• are just as successful in training;
• take less short-term sickness absence; and
• tend to offset any loss of speed with better judgement based on years of experience.
Age is not a good indicator of return on investment – over 50s are as likely to commit to a new employer and offer many years service, even where they have previously had a more senior position or a higher wage.

Source www.gov.uk