Who wants to work till they drop?

Calum Bennie
By Calum Bennie Posted in Financial industry news
March 27th, 2017

Is this living longer malarkey all it’s cracked up to be?

It’s all very well that today’s newly-borns are set to live to an average of 79 and 83 for men and women respectively but, boy, are they going to have to pay for it!

Two separate reports for the government point the way to an increase in the age at which workers will qualify for a state pension.
One suggests workers under the age of 30 may not get a state pension until the age of 70 and a second report by John Cridland proposes workers currently under the age of 45 may not qualify until age 68.

The Government has already committed to raising the state pension age from 65 to 66 by October 2020, and then to 67 by 2028, but Cridland has recommended the rise to 68 comes at least 7 years ahead of the planned 2046 date.

For all the huffing and puffing in the media about the reports, the recommendations, while not exactly welcomed with open arms, will come as no surprise to today’s working population. This issue has been fiercely debated for some time and therefore most people now expect to be working later into life than previous generations. After all, how often do you hear the remark made around the workplace or in the pub, only half-made in jest: “I’m going to have to work until I drop!”?

So, working – not quite till we drop – but till we qualify for the state pension is one option. But with forward planning, we can have more control of our own destiny.

At the heart of this has to be building our own retirement savings. Contributions from your employer, if applicable and available, to a pension are of course a great boon but with or without them, building up our own golden years fund is the only way to not have to “work till you drop”!







The information provided in this article was accurate at the time of publishing and should be read in the context of the date it was published. Views in this article are those of the author alone and do not necessarily represent the view of Scottish Friendly. No advice has been provided by Scottish Friendly. If you are in any doubt as to whether a savings or investment plan is suitable for you, you should contact a financial adviser for advice. If you do not have a financial adviser, you can get details of local financial advisers by visiting www.unbiased.co.uk. Advisers may charge for providing such advice and should confirm any cost beforehand.