Marvin OnumonuAlmost one in three UK employers saw an ageing workforce as a business risk over the next five years, according to research from Canada Life.
The study, Building longevity-ready workplaces in the UK, found most businesses are not fully prepared for longer working lives.
Four in five (83%) employers said people would need to work longer to support themselves in later life, but only one in eight (12%) private sector employers had a plan to recruit and retain older workers.
Most employers offered at least one supportive measure, such as promoting work-life balance (41%), valuing experience as well as qualifications (29%) and offering flexible working for those with caring duties (25%).
Lindsey Rix-Broom (pictured), incoming CEO Europe at Great-West Lifeco and CEO Canada Life UK, said: “The longevity megatrend is shaping lives across the UK and beyond, transforming the makeup of our population and the way we live and work.
“The implications are clear: workplaces must adapt, but this isn’t something that businesses can solve alone. It demands collective solutions that harness the potential of people of all ages.”
Employers said they had a role to play in helping employees adapt to longer lives, including investing in skills through people’s careers (72%), being aware that motivations change with age (70%) and looking at workplace structures differently (65%).
Three quarters (73%) said the Government should do more to help people work longer.
Employers and workers did not always agree on why people leave work early.
Over half (55%) of employers thought workers left because they physically could not do the job, but only 18% of workers said this was their reason.
Most adults (79%) thought living longer would mean working for longer, but the report found that there is a need to move away from the idea that people just learn, work and retire.
Two in five (42%) adults said they might need to retrain or have more than one career if lifespans keep increasing.
Half of employers (50%) said the shape of work would need to change, including new approaches to skills, motivation, benefits and job structure.
Rix-Broom added: “The traditional three-phase model of education, work and retirement is quickly becoming outdated. In its place, we must create working environments that better reflect the complexity and fluidity of modern lives.
“This starts by better understanding the changing motivations, priorities and concerns of the UK population at different life stages, and by supporting businesses to address the challenges and capitalise on the opportunities that this brings.”
The study found that only one in four (25%) people aged 65 or over who are still working do so for financial reasons, while about four in ten (42%) want to stay active.
More than half (58%) of people aged 45-54 and two thirds (66%) aged 55-64 did not have employer-provided insurance, even though health insurance (67%), income protection (63%) and life insurance (55%) were among the most valued benefits after salary, annual leave, pension and flexible working.
Only four in 10 (38%) employers saw employee wellbeing as a high priority, and many did not see the growing value of benefits like critical illness cover and income protection.
However, over two thirds (68%) of employers agreed they had an important role in helping people stay in work for longer.
Rix-Broom said: “It is clear from our research that building longevity-ready workplaces requires collaboration and meaningful dialogue between individuals, employers, advisers and policymakers.
“Getting this right is not only a practical necessity – it is a moral imperative and a pathway to unlocking the growth and potential of the UK’s workforce and, by extension, the wider economy.”
