Report: Thinking ahead

This report explores what large employers are doing to support employees in their mid-life through to retirement. Produced by the Institute for Employment Studies on behalf of the Centre for Ageing Better and the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, the researchers examined the delivery of interventions, and explored the business context that led to these interventions.

Key findings

• The support that employers offered to their employees focused on three areas: finances; health and wellbeing; and careers and working life. Finances and health and wellbeing were the most common areas where support was offered. There were a few examples of holistic support.
• Employers identified a number of reasons why they sought to support their employees in their planning and preparing for later life, and their health and wellbeing, including: changes to pensions, advances in technology, deploying people effectively and the changing profile of the workforce.
• Overall there was appetite among employers to do more to support their employees’ planning and preparing for later life, and health and wellbeing.

The report highlights the findings from qualitative research, consisting of interviews with 25 large employers, five stakeholders and five training providers. It offers insights on the types of support that employers are offering. It also identifies the motivations, barriers and enablers for employer support and considers what could be done to promote greater employer involvement.