From The Sun:
Millions born in the 1970s and later are likely to be told they must work for longer as early as the March Budget. The state pension age is already due to rise from 66 to 67 by 2028. The next increase — to 68 — was not due to happen until 2046, but an upcoming review is set to say it should be brought forward.
🚨 | BREAKING: The Government has PRIVATELY agreed to raise the state pension age to 68 to start in the 2030s, instead of the scheduled change in 2046. This means that those born AFTER 1970 will be asked to work longer
— Politics UK (@POLITlCSUK) January 23, 2023
Retirement is a contentious issue. 50 years ago, the average punter retired at 65 and had a year of relaxation before dropping dead. But now people are living into their 80s and 90s.
I personally take the view that work is important to keep you occupied BUT it is the kind of work that matters. I don’t think anyway wants 80-year-olds digging ditches (well, maybe Jacob Rees Mogg) but for the work I do (arsing around on the internet) I can’t see why I can’t keep doing that till I drop.
To be honest, I basically semi-retired in my mid-thirties. I only work about 20 hours a week. I work for myself so can control my hours, but basically, my work can be very mentally taxing, and I know from experience that if I do too much of it, my head gets scrambled. Also working at home means I save on commuting as well as not having to endure tedious meetings. They estimate knowledge workers are only productive for less than 3 hours a day, the rest is filler.
I admit not all employees are this lucky, Lorry Drivers and retail workers can’t have this flexibility.
I also things stressful jobs like GPs should only be part-time from the start. Far too often we wait for people to Burnout, rather than preventing Burnout in the first place.
If you can, my advice is to reduce your hours while you are still healthy and able to enjoy life. Retirement is not much for you to if you are a physical and mental wreck. And if you are retired consider a part-time job or volunteer to keep the little grey cells active.
I help to manage Slugger by taking care of the site as well as running our live events. My background is in business, marketing and IT. My politics tend towards middle-of-the-road pragmatism, I am not a member of any political party. Oddly for a member of the Slugger team, I am not that interested in daily politics, preferring to write about big ideas in society. When not stuck in front of a screen, I am a parkrun Run Director.
