Mario Rebellato, personal assistant to Charlie Mullins, CEO of
Pimlico Plumbers, is not your average PA. Earlier this year he turned
70. "His memory's going a bit," admits Mullins, "but I can't expect
older staff to have as much energy as 20-year-olds. What I'll probably
do is take some responsibilities away, but keep him doing the stuff he's
still really good at."
Mullins has long been a flag-waver for older workers. Some 20% of his staff are over the age of 55, 6% are over 65. "We're probably a bit unusual, but this will be the norm," Mullins says.
This year was supposed to mark the beginning of the retirement for the baby boomers – those born between 1946-64. But the removal in October of the compulsory retirement age (employers can no longer automatically retire employees at 65), combined with the fact many people's pensions (if they have one) will no longer provide a comfortable living, mean that more people working into their 70s is inevitable.
According to the Office of National Statistics, employment among the over-65s rose by 104,000 in 2010, while recruitment marketplace peopleperhour.com reports a doubling of newly retired people seeking work.
This same trend can seen in a recent ICM poll of 5,000 UK employees, commissioned by the Guardian on behalf of income protection provider Unum. With only 30% of respondents confident that they have made adequate provision for their retirement, one in five workers do not expect to retire until they are over 70.
Mullins, who assesses elderly workers' capabilities twice a year rather than just once for younger employees, believes bosses aren't prepared for this. "Firms have to make allowances for older workers," he says. "They especially need to have benefits and policies in place for managing an ageing workforce."
Age and illness are inextricably linked. Cancer Research says 53% of cancers are diagnosed between the ages of 50 and 74. Although older workers, according to a 2011 survey by the vitamin firm Seven Seas Multibionta, are less likely to take unauthorised absence than their younger counterparts, they are more likely to be severely ill – simply because they are getting older. By the age of 50, one-third of the UK workforce is dealing with a chronic illness.
"Ill-health at work is set to be something more companies have to plan for," says Paul Litchfield, BT's head of health. "Sickness is now 60% lifestyle rather than contagion-caused, and the removal of the default retirement age will specifically mean more people will get ill while of working age. I am already seeing a gradual increase in chronic illness as more staff decide they don't want to retire at 65." Litchfield calculates that at BT, a company of just over 100,000 employees, about 2,000 staff each year will be diagnosed with cancer (which reflects UK average incidence rates).
At a recent roundtable debate, hosted by the Guardian and sponsored by income protection provider Unum, senior executives discussed the need for a more flexible approach to employee benefits. Attendees acknowledged that today's employees are on the lookout for what are termed "lifestyle" benefits, such as help with childcare or holidays, rather than the more traditional benefits offered in the past. They agreed that, in future, employee benefits will have to adapt to meet different demands such as rising student debt and government changes to the retirement age.
In packages for older workers, health-related benefits such as health insurance and income protection take on greater significance. "Older staff are naturally more susceptible to ill-health in terms of incidence, severity and recovery, which has various implications for the employer," writes Chris Evans, senior consultant at employment specialist Buck Consultants, in trade title Employee Benefits. "How much an employer invests over and beyond 'standard' is the key question, but targeted benefits that help detect or mitigate health problems are likely to generate the greatest engagement."
Dr Matt Flynn, who produced the TUC guide Managing Age while at the Centre for Research into the Older Workforce, argues the sort of people who are still in work post-70 are most likely to be the healthiest anyway. "I estimate it won't quite be the numbers some are predicting – perhaps about one in 10 will work beyond what was 'retirement' age," he says. But he agrees that bosses will need to change their views about older workers, and that dealing with the illnesses of older workers will simply be part of resource planning.
Mullins has long been a flag-waver for older workers. Some 20% of his staff are over the age of 55, 6% are over 65. "We're probably a bit unusual, but this will be the norm," Mullins says.
This year was supposed to mark the beginning of the retirement for the baby boomers – those born between 1946-64. But the removal in October of the compulsory retirement age (employers can no longer automatically retire employees at 65), combined with the fact many people's pensions (if they have one) will no longer provide a comfortable living, mean that more people working into their 70s is inevitable.
According to the Office of National Statistics, employment among the over-65s rose by 104,000 in 2010, while recruitment marketplace peopleperhour.com reports a doubling of newly retired people seeking work.
This same trend can seen in a recent ICM poll of 5,000 UK employees, commissioned by the Guardian on behalf of income protection provider Unum. With only 30% of respondents confident that they have made adequate provision for their retirement, one in five workers do not expect to retire until they are over 70.
Mullins, who assesses elderly workers' capabilities twice a year rather than just once for younger employees, believes bosses aren't prepared for this. "Firms have to make allowances for older workers," he says. "They especially need to have benefits and policies in place for managing an ageing workforce."
Age and illness are inextricably linked. Cancer Research says 53% of cancers are diagnosed between the ages of 50 and 74. Although older workers, according to a 2011 survey by the vitamin firm Seven Seas Multibionta, are less likely to take unauthorised absence than their younger counterparts, they are more likely to be severely ill – simply because they are getting older. By the age of 50, one-third of the UK workforce is dealing with a chronic illness.
"Ill-health at work is set to be something more companies have to plan for," says Paul Litchfield, BT's head of health. "Sickness is now 60% lifestyle rather than contagion-caused, and the removal of the default retirement age will specifically mean more people will get ill while of working age. I am already seeing a gradual increase in chronic illness as more staff decide they don't want to retire at 65." Litchfield calculates that at BT, a company of just over 100,000 employees, about 2,000 staff each year will be diagnosed with cancer (which reflects UK average incidence rates).
At a recent roundtable debate, hosted by the Guardian and sponsored by income protection provider Unum, senior executives discussed the need for a more flexible approach to employee benefits. Attendees acknowledged that today's employees are on the lookout for what are termed "lifestyle" benefits, such as help with childcare or holidays, rather than the more traditional benefits offered in the past. They agreed that, in future, employee benefits will have to adapt to meet different demands such as rising student debt and government changes to the retirement age.
In packages for older workers, health-related benefits such as health insurance and income protection take on greater significance. "Older staff are naturally more susceptible to ill-health in terms of incidence, severity and recovery, which has various implications for the employer," writes Chris Evans, senior consultant at employment specialist Buck Consultants, in trade title Employee Benefits. "How much an employer invests over and beyond 'standard' is the key question, but targeted benefits that help detect or mitigate health problems are likely to generate the greatest engagement."
Dr Matt Flynn, who produced the TUC guide Managing Age while at the Centre for Research into the Older Workforce, argues the sort of people who are still in work post-70 are most likely to be the healthiest anyway. "I estimate it won't quite be the numbers some are predicting – perhaps about one in 10 will work beyond what was 'retirement' age," he says. But he agrees that bosses will need to change their views about older workers, and that dealing with the illnesses of older workers will simply be part of resource planning.
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