Member Article

Reluctant retirees fear boredom and isolation

Many older people expect to work past the age of 65, often because they are afraid of being bored in retirement, new research suggests. Companionship and intellectual stimulation are just as important as financial incentives in deciding when to stop work, a survey of 2,200 adults found.

More than a third of people over 55 said they expected to continue working after they reached 65, according to the findings from savings firm Birmingham Midshires. Almost one in four of these said they would need to continue working to support their family, but a similar proportion revealed they would remain at work because they feared becoming bored and would not know what to do with their time. More than one in five of those surveyed were planning to undertake volunteer work for a good cause or a charity.

Jason Robinson, director of savings operations for Birmingham Midshires said: “For many people work is an important social lifeline and consequently we are seeing a significant number of older people planning to work beyond state pension age – either in a paid capacity or in the voluntary sector. As a generation of savers, the over 55s are more likely to have this luxury of choice.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .