Please come back

MoneySavingGerbil

My wife (59), and I (53) are planning on resigning in the Spring. It'll have to be quite some campaign by the government to change our minds. We both work in IT so once the decision is made and we've been out of work for a while I don't think going back into the same field would be feasible anyway given how ageist the industry is. Quite honestly I don't know what incentive the Government could possibly offer anyway. They don't seem to have been in any hurry to adjust things like LTA despite being told for years that it is a contributory factor to NHS consultants departing in their 50s. Seeing my state pension forecast reach the point where it says no improvement is possible also sends a message that further work is less valuable.

NedS

I agree the first step is probably to try and stop the rot before they think about the much harder task of getting those who have already gone to come back.

I'm 50+ and likely going in the next 12 months. I would stay longer if I felt valued, appreciated and suitably rewarded for the work I do, but when as a Civil Servant I'm given a 2% pay rise (at least we got a pay rise this year!) and treated like sh$t, what do they really expect? My advice to the government is to start by looking at how people are treated if you really want to understand why people cannot wait to get out. You will not attract people back into work until you address the reasons they left in the first place.

Albermarle

MoneySavingGerbil said:

My wife (59), and I (53) are planning on resigning in the Spring. It'll have to be quite some campaign by the government to change our minds. We both work in IT so once the decision is made and we've been out of work for a while I don't think going back into the same field would be feasible anyway given how ageist the industry is. Quite honestly I don't know what incentive the Government could possibly offer anyway. They don't seem to have been in any hurry to adjust things like LTA despite being told for years that it is a contributory factor to NHS consultants departing in their 50s. Seeing my state pension forecast reach the point where it says no improvement is possible also sends a message that further work is less valuable.

I do not think the majority of the early retirees being talked about, will have LTA issues. One area the Govt seems to be focusing on are people who made what seems to be a snap decision to retire early, and maybe now are just realising they have not got the finances to support a long retirement. The early retirees (or wannabe early retirees) who post on here, are not typical of the wider population.

NedS

Albermarle said:

MoneySavingGerbil said:

My wife (59), and I (53) are planning on resigning in the Spring. It'll have to be quite some campaign by the government to change our minds. We both work in IT so once the decision is made and we've been out of work for a while I don't think going back into the same field would be feasible anyway given how ageist the industry is. Quite honestly I don't know what incentive the Government could possibly offer anyway. They don't seem to have been in any hurry to adjust things like LTA despite being told for years that it is a contributory factor to NHS consultants departing in their 50s. Seeing my state pension forecast reach the point where it says no improvement is possible also sends a message that further work is less valuable.

I do not think the majority of the early retirees being talked about, will have LTA issues. One area the Govt seems to be focusing on are people who made what seems to be a snap decision to retire early, and maybe now are just realising they have not got the finances to support a long retirement. The early retirees (or wannabe early retirees) who post on here, are not typical of the wider population.

Agreed, there are different cohorts who have left the workforce for different reasons, and each will require a tailored response to address the reasons they left in order to entice them back (or prevent further people leaving). As noted above, some maybe made rash decisions without the financial means, others were maybe impacted by the LTA or other tax implications (NHS consultants etc). All very different scenarios requiring different solutions - no one size fits all government initiative is going to fix this issue for them.

zagfles

Maybe they should start looking at why about 7% of working age adults in the UK are on disability benefits, whereas it's around 1% or less in other similar countries.

p00hsticks

Grumpy_chap said:

eastcorkram said:

I was kind of hoping the campaign, if they really have to do one, would be to get people like me, 63 and still working around 50 hours a week, an incentive to get out, and create openings for young 'uns !

The solution that might attract some back would be flexible approach - it does seem as though work is either full time 40 hours or nothing.  There are many that would like to do some shorter and more flexible hours (and avoid having to be involved in work-place politics).

I see plenty of jobs advertised for 16+ hours (I believe 16 hours is some sort of limit imposed on those claiming benefits) .

I suspect more of an issue is that the jobs that need filling are the unpopular badly paid ones - minimum wage, zero hours contracts, provide own vehicle, unsocial hours - retail assistants, waiters, courier drivers.

The problem they'll face is that those who have decided to retire early and can afford to (unless forced to because of ill health) are not going to have been doing those sort of jobs and on the whole will see them as being not worth the effort of doing -  they'd rather volunteer to work in a charity shop for nothing where they can dictate their own hours than go and work overnight in Tesco shelf stacking for pin money.

I don't think the scheme is really going to be trying to lure ex-civil servants and IT people back.

p00hsticks

zagfles said:

Maybe they should start looking at why about 7% of working age adults in the UK are on disability benefits, whereas it's around 1% or less in other similar countries.

Being on a disability benefit such as PIP doesn't necessarily equate to not being in full time employment though....

calcotti

p00hsticks said:

I see plenty of jobs advertised for 16+ hours (I believe 16 hours is some sort of limit imposed on those claiming benefits) . 

The 16 hour/week only applies to
 1. Employment Support Allowance (for those claiming due to having a health condition that limits their ability). To work while claiming ESA they have to work less than 16 hours/week and earn not more than £152.
2. Some people are eligible for Working Tax Credits if earning at least 16 hours/week (but you can’t make a new claim for Working Tax Credits unless you already get Child Tax Credits)

molerat

Out of work / low hours benefits being cut is what needs to happen. The biggest motivator is money so giving people a choice of where that money comes from is the biggest de-motivator against getting people in to work. 

I retired at 55 and had loads of offers to go back to work.  I didn't need the extra money and didn't want the hassle from upper management and the government taking 32% of every penny I earned and I suspect the majority of this target audience are the same.

zagfles

p00hsticks said:

zagfles said:

Maybe they should start looking at why about 7% of working age adults in the UK are on disability benefits, whereas it's around 1% or less in other similar countries.

Being on a disability benefit such as PIP doesn't necessarily equate to not being in full time employment though....

I know, but there's clearly a link. Claiming UC with limited capacity for work is more likely if getting PIP/DLA, and UC with LCWRA is a disability benefit in itself.