Retirement Inequality

Let’s get real.

Not everybody is going to have a fulfilling retirement.

Not everybody has the luxury of being able to do well-paid consultancy or to have a significant income so that work becomes something they can choose to do.

There are so many people out there who are going to have to live on the state pension and a very minimal amount of private pension, which is possibly too much to allow them to claim other state benefits. That’s my cynical view of why the government is encouraging people to opt for their own pension.

And in work not everybody has a fulfilling job.

Sometimes I feel I exist in an echo chamber, with the only people that write and comment being professionals who have fulfilling well-paid work. As they get older, they can move to more flexible working and get well paid.

Let’s face it, most professioanl work is not a very physically, demanding job. Yes, when I write an article it takes a bit of brain power, but I do my thinking while I’m going for a walk, spending time in nature or down at the gym. I’m not having to sit and do horrible work or have to do physically demanding work that involves me carrying things that frankly is just too hard for my body now I’m in my 60s.

As we consider retirement, let’s also speak about the people that will have a retirement that’s probably going to be worse than they’re working lives. They may still be paying rent. They may have a disabled relative to look after. They will have to scrimp.

They’re not planning their long-haul holidays and exciting adventures. They’re just worried about how on earth they’re going to get through life as they are not able to work anymore. And frankly, if they are working, they would give anything not to have to go and do the job in distribution or whatever it may be.

For those of us who are fortunate enough to have a good education and to have the flexibility of freelance work/life arrangements we need to consider the people that are not as fortunate as us.

As we write, and consider, and think, it’s not just about people trying to get back into work in their 50s for well-paid satisfying jobs. It’s those trying for a minimum wage job that is really too physically demanding for them.

Could you stand up all day and then walk home? Or be in a job where you have to lift heavy boxes up flights of stairs, knowing you will be in trouble for taking too long? Or keep going in a trade when your knees are shot and your non work life is all about rest and recovery.

As the inequality gap is widening. ?What can we do?

Well, firstly there should be ways to reduce inequality during earlier life so people can save more. We can make it easier for people to retrain for jobs that are more suitable to people with health issues.

But for those around my age, around state retirement age ... I'm thinking about how I can help. Is it to use my voice to raise this issue, to offer practical support to a few ... I'd be interested to hear your thoughts and ideas.

Dr Denise Taylor is on a mission to reclaim, reframe (and rethink!) retirement. It is not retiring and slowing down but a new phase of life where we have more freedom and flexibility to live a life the way we want.

Denise has been involved in retirement planning for almost 40 years. At 64 she gained her doctorate having researched how people find meaning in life after full-time work. To share this widely her latest book – Rethinking Retirement for Positive Ageing is now on sale, published by Routledge. Dr Denise is a Chartered Psychologist, and also a wilderness rites of passage guide combining her interest in transitions and ritual with a love of nature. Beyond her work she gains great fulfilment through owning a private wood.