Delaying retirement can be good for us, The Telegraph says in a recent article called Why Retirement is Bad for Your Health. Is seems that pushing back the age we retire by a few years improves not just our mental health, but our physical health too.
We all know the rose-tinted image of retirement: the dream lifestyle we finally achieve at the end of our careers – like that pot of gold just beyond the rainbow. No more bosses or commuting, just endless hours of leisure to spend as we please. Ah, bliss! However, it seems that working in a job we enjoy may be the simple secret to staying happy in life.
“The past 10 minutes of your life are as precious as the first 10 minutes, so why spend them watching television?” says Tom, an architect in his 70s who loves his job and is in no hurry to give it up, according to The Telegraph.
Is it time to rewrite the story of how we are meant to spend our later years? In this post, we look at the benefits of carrying on in our careers later in life. And, as we’re all about staff rewards here – what are the meaningful perks and benefits that employers can offer to people working in their 50s, 60s and beyond.
Are we really working longer?
New research from Standard Life in April 2023 finds that people are planning to retire at or beyond their State Pension age, as they look to establish additional financial security for retirement.
On average, those currently aged between 45 and 64 say they would like to retire at 68 – two years later than the current state pension age.
This is likely due to the desire to have the time to build a solid pot to fund the duration of their retirement. Two in five respondents (44%) said the biggest influence on when they’ll retire is their level of financial security.
And while this consideration comes slightly ahead of health and wellbeing (41%), there is more hard evidence emerging that points to the positives of working longer and later in life.
The health benefits of working longer
Over the last century life expectancy has shot up from 52 to 81. As a result, many people spend decades, rather than years, no longer working. On average women spend 20 years in retirement while men spend 15.
A 2021 study by BMC Public Health showed that women who continued working past 65 had a lower likelihood of requiring long-term care and a reduced risk of decline in their ability to complete daily activities. This “working boost” extended to both sexes for people whose jobs were classed as “rewarding”.
Even one year can make a difference: a Harvard Business Review Study found that people who retired at 66, rather than at 65 or younger, lived 11% longer.
Of course, it’s important to distinguish between work that implies you go to an office and manual labour,” points out Ralph Abraham, 78, in The Telegraph article. Ralph still works full-time as an endocrinologist for London Medical.
“Most of us are less physically strong than we were in our 20s and 30s – but when you have a job that feels more like a passion than work, there is no need to stop doing it just because you reach an arbitrary age.”
Harvard studies concur that some of the health benefits we accrue by working come from the movement that is usually required to get oneself to an office, while any cognitive tasks also keep the brain active.
The mental benefits of working longer
The same BMC Public Health study quoted above also showed that participants who worked either full-time or part-time work scored higher in mental health (as measured by the Geriatric Depression Scale) than those who had retired.
By far the most important health-related factor was the benefit afforded by increased social connections and engagement.
Another bonus of working well into retirement age is spending time with people from other generations. Sylvia Parkin, 79, who teaches creative writing and works as an editor, told The Telegraph: “Through work, I meet so many youngsters – they bring so much to my life and keep my brain active.”
Writer Dominique Afacan wrote a book on people over 70 with stimulating careers, called Bolder, to help counteract her own fear of ageing.
“I started to realise that the energy we associate with youth is often there because young people are more likely to be exploring the world, taking on big jobs and making new contacts. But there’s nothing stopping you from recreating this at any point in your life.”
Staff benefits for people working longer
The staff benefits we offer our clients include a wide range of rewards for employees at every stage of their life. Leaning into the quote from Dominique above, it would be wrong to assume that older people are just interested in will writing services or critical illness cover (though we do provide both of those valuable benefits).
Gym memberships and mobile phone benefits are perennial favourites with employees of all ages, and the holiday exchange scheme and private medical insurance also see wide take-up.
Our popular Wellness videos address issues like sleep, nutrition and finances and can be very helpful for extra support when life presents challenges or turning points, as it inevitably does over the years.
Explore all our benefits here, including the money-saving Discount Club, which lets staff save up to 40% on holidays, shopping, entertainment and days out. When you need to show your appreciation to staff for great work, our Rewards & Recognition Scheme helps you say ‘thank you’ or ‘well done’ with gift cards to some of the most popular brands and high street names.
Having a rewarding, long-lasting career often depends on being in a happy and healthy working environment. Offering staff rewards and benefits shows you care about your workforce and want to support them in their daily lives, whatever stage they’re at.
Read the full article: Why Retirement is Bad for your Health – According to the 70-somethings Who Refuse to Quit.
About Us
At Enjoy Benefits, we have great experience in helping companies of all sizes introduce benefits that are suitable for their workplace.
Benefits are easy to set up and ongoing administration is then run through a hub, allowing employees to manage their own benefits while the employer can see which benefits are proving popular and what level of take-up each has had.
If you would like an obligation-free chat to discuss which benefits might work for your business and your employees, please contact us by calling 0800 088 7315 or using our Contact Form.
This article written by: Victoria Sorzano
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