British workers are increasingly likely to work into their
70s, according to a research that found the cost of living
crisis has left older people with little choice but to stay in
employment. There were 446,601 people above the age of 70
still in work in 2022, a rise of 61% compared with 277,926 in
2012, said Rest Less, an online community for the over-50s
that offers advice to older workers.
While most of the over-70s workforce is male, the rise has
been more significant among women, most likely in response
to the gradual equalisation of pension ages between 2010
and 2020. Women were previously able to retire five years
earlier. The number of women working beyond the age of 70
is up 66% since 2012, compared with an increase of 58% for
men.
Stuart Lewis, the chief executive of Rest Less, drew a
comparison between older workers and King Charles, but
acknowledged that most continue working “for very different
reasons” to the hereditary monarch. “At the age of 74, King
Charles is a fantastic example of someone who both enjoys,
and benefits from, continuing to work post-state pension1
age,” said Lewis. “Our latest analysis shows that there are
far more over-70s in the workplace today than a decade ago.
Until Covid hit and life expectancy dropped for the first time
in a decade, there were more people reaching their state
pension age than ever before, which meant there were more
experienced people in the workplace than ever before too.”
Lewis said many of those reaching the theoretical age of
retirement were staying in the workplace for lack of any other
option. “Like King Charles, many of these people will have no
choice but to work, although for very different reasons to the
king. We see many older workers today who are struggling
to survive amidst the cost of living crisis, with inadequate
retirement savings meaning they must work in order to survive
financially.” The state pension age in the United Kingdom (UK)
is 66 for men and women but is due to start rising from 2026.
(Rob Davies. www.theguardian.com, 30.04.2023. Adaptado.)
1
state pension: a regular payment from the government to someone
who does not work anymore.
No trecho do terceiro parágrafo “
most continue working”, o
termo sublinhado refere-se
