
More people over the age of 50 are choosing to stay on longer in work, according to Work Wise UK.
The impact this will have on the UK jobs market, especially for younger people looking to get their first job or begin their careers, is still unknown.
Phil Flaxton, chief executive officer of Work Wise UK, said that with more people living longer, people’s expectations and attitudes to work and retirement were shifting.
Mr Flaxton said: “If you can work up until you’re 68 or 70 and you’ve got no serious health issues then I think a number of people will choose that route.
“Where it potentially falls apart is, if the employers now have to give you the right to work until after 65 if you so wish, how does that affect the young people coming on to the market?”
The Trades Union Congress (TUC) recently revealed that 56.5 per cent of people aged between 50 and 64 were in work in April 1992. By December 2010 this had risen to 64.9 per cent.
Over the same period, the proportion of those aged over 64 in work rose from 5.5 to nine per cent.
Work Wise UK is a not-for-profit initiative, which aims to make the UK one of the most progressive economies in the world by encouraging the widespread adoption of smarter working practices.