Rising number of over-65s work on

According to data from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, rising participation in the workforce by the 65-plus age group is a trend in most industrialised countries.

Data from the UK’s Office for National Statistics show that 8.5% of over-65s were in the workforce in the three months to October 2010, with a further 2.2% describing themselves as unemployed but looking for work.

Older workers have been entering the workforce in spite of recession and near record youth unemployment. While the number of retirees at work is rising, absolute numbers not only of 18 to 24-year-olds, but also those aged 25 to 49 are falling.

Maybe a driving factor behind the desire to keep working is the extension in the expected period of disability free living and the need to have the dosh to fund it.

According to a study from Oxford University’s Institute of Ageing and Club Vita, beyond 65 a British man can on average expect to live 10 years healthy and disability-free as of 2006 – up from 7.6 years in 1981. For a woman, comparable figures are 10.6 years and 8.5 years.

The bottom line for marketers is that you have more older people staying longer in the workforce earning and most importantly spending. Dick Stroud