The Trade Union Congress (TUC) has revealed as a result of its recent report that approximately one in eight male and female workers are forced to put an end to employment before state pension age due to disability or ill-health concerns.
The ‘Postponing the pension: are we all working longer?’ research found 436,000 workers who are within five years of the state pension age have had quit working for medical reasons; as well as pinpointing a considerable divide between particular areas of the UK. Figures show that, in the South West of England, sickness and disability is cited by just one in 13 of those who have left work in the run-up to state pension age – closely followed by one in 11 in the East and South East of England.
TUC general secretary, Frances O’Grady, commented: “Raising the state pension age is an easy target for chancellors of the exchequer wanting to make stealth cuts. But these figures show that we must hold off on any further rises in the pension age until we have worked out how to support the 1 in 8 workers who are too ill to work before they even get to state pension age.”
She continued: “People should be able to retire in dignity with a decent pension when the time is right. Older workers have a crucial role to play in the labour market but we can’t expect the sick to wait longer to get a pension when they may need financial support more than ever.”
Furthermore, research concluded that workers over the age of 50 now amount to 30 per cent of the workforce – an increase from a recorded 24 per cent in 2000, and 49 per cent of 60 to 64 year olds stopped working before their official retirement age.
The TUC has submitted the research to the Independent Review of State Pension Age, led by John Cridland, which will consider what will happen to the state pension after 2028.
View the full report here
