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23 Sep 2019

Retirement flexibility: how to ensure your policies and benefits are flexible for older workers

Retirement is a significant life event, and it comes to everyone eventually. As our population ages, the workforce is ageing too. It’s expected that by 2025, one in three of the working population will be aged over 50. Plus, the State Pension Age will rise to 66 next year, with a further increase to 67 between 2026 and 2028.

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With people working for longer, employers have a challenge in supporting older workers. Policies and benefits need to make employees feel valued, supported and fulfilled in their later years at work. And throughout the move into their next phase of life; retirement.

The key ingredient 

Flexibility is the key ingredient to allow older workers to adapt their benefits to suit their changing lifestyle needs. Allowing older workers to tailor their reward package through flexible benefits is important. It means employees can choose benefits that are most relevant to their current life stage. For older workers this might include choosing to pay more into their pension, or re-routing salary into private health, hobbies and interests, or shopping vouchers.

Flexible working can be a really effective practice for older workers. For example, reducing hours can help employees nearing retirement to adjust to new routines that don’t involve work. Flexible working can also afford older workers better balance between work and time out. This means they can pursue hobbies and other interests, or health-related activities, boosting their wellbeing at the same time.

Finding the right balance

Living longer also means that there might be a number of older workers who are balancing work with caring for a loved one. There may also be some older workers who have caring responsibilities for grandchildren. Flexible working arrangements are crucial for these employees, allowing them to structure their working day around these responsibilities, for example attending appointments or school pick-ups. Employers should make sure they clearly communicate their flexible working policy, reminding older workers how they can request it, and share how changing their working arrangements might be able to help them.

At-retirement support

A final important aspect to consider is the wellbeing of workers approaching retirement. Often, the emotional preparation for retirement is overlooked – mainly due to the practical aspects that need to be considered. The mental wellbeing of older workers can really suffer at retirement, and can be affected more by loss of supportive workplace relationships.

Access to mental health support is important, perhaps through an employee assistance programme or counselling services. Employers must make sure that older workers have easy access to this support. And where possible, could consider continuing this access after an employee has retired, to help them in the early stages of their new life chapter.

Older workers bring a wealth of experience and expertise to the workplace. Employers need to recognise the valuable contribution they make, and how to support older workers as they approach retirement.

For more on managing a multi-generational workforce, including older workers, download our free guide to the challenges of the 4G workforce.

This article is provided by Simplyhealth.

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