WORKING to 70 will be a challenge for one in four Australian men and one in five women who are expected to be in fair or poor health in 2035, when the age pension age hits that mark.
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The AMP and National Centre for Social and Economic Modelling (NATSEM) Income and Wealth report, released in June, found health would be critical in the later years of working life and saving for retirement.
While the good news was that Australians are living longer, many may not be healthy enough to maintain a full-time job at age 70.
The research has implications for retirement planning and how people balance their health and earning capacity. It showed that more than one in five men and one in four women who said they were in good health at age 65 were in fair or poor health by 70.
For Australians who retired in the past five years, the average retirement age is 63.3 for men and 59.6 for women.
NATSEM research director Laurie Brown said the report showed Australians in good health were more than twice as likely to be in the workforce as those in poor health, and this had implications as health changed with age.
“Currently, the majority of Australians leave the workforce before age 65,” she said. “With the possibility of this increasing to 70 over the next 20 years, younger Australians need to consider the importance of their long-term health and its impact on career, wealth and retirement.”
AMP chief customer officer Paul Sainsbury said the report suggested that rather than simply working longer, people needed to rethink their approach to retirement and implement transition periods with reduced levels of work, allowing them to focus on their wellbeing while still earning and saving money.
WESTPAC has exceeded a target to have more than 20.5 per cent of its workforce aged over 50 by the time it celebrates its 200th anniversary in 2017.
Director of women’s markets Ainslie Van Onselen said 20.9 per cent of the bank’s workforce were 50 or over.
“We need to take advantage of the rich and expansive experience our older workers can provide,” Ms Van Onselen said.
“According to mature senior business people, they provide the greatest benefit in mentoring less experienced employees and providing historic knowledge of how to solve long-term business problems.”
Of workers aged 60-69:
- Just over half are professionals, and people with tertiary qualifications are most likely to be employed at older ages.
- About 49 per cent of workers have post-school qualifications, compared with 30 per cent whose highest education was Year 12.
- About a quarter of men are employed in the manufacturing, electricity or construction sectors and 49 per cent of women work in the education and health sectors.
