2007年7月20日 退休年龄到了,退还是不退?
7月18日公布的官方数字显示,在英国,超过法定领取养老金年龄但仍在工作的人口比例,已达到创纪录水平。 The proportion of people working past the state pension age in UK is running at record levels, according to official figures published on the 18th July. Men above 65 and women above 60 accounted for just under half of the 180,000 rise in employment to 29.07m during the 12 months to the end of May according to the Office for National Statistics in UK. The proportion of people above pension age with jobs has risen by more than 3 percentage points to 11 per cent since the mid 1990s, as concerns over rising longevity and worsening private sector pension provision have mounted. Since 1992, the number of people above pensionable age in work has risen by 400,000 to 1.2m - two thirds of them women. Chris Ball, chief executive of The Age and Employment Network, said: "Our impression is that many people are accepting jobs below their qualifications and capacities, often out of economic necessity. This remains a waste of important resources and is frankly demeaning to older people. "Many stay in work beyond state retirement age because of the decline in incomes from defined contributions pension schemes. Also, with defined benefits schemes hitting difficulty, fewer employers are offering voluntary early retirement as a 'golden handshake' leading up to retirement." Increased availability of older people and migrant workers, however, has helped fill vacancies and restrain inflationary pay rises in a tight labour market, say economists. Average annual earnings growth excluding bonuses - regarded as the best measure of pay inflation - dipped by 0.1 of a percentage point to 3.5 per cent during the three months to the end of May. The headline earnings figure fell even faster by 0.6 of a percentage point, also to 3.5 per cent. Karen Ward, UK economist at HSBC, said the rise in labour availability was "just what the Governor [of the Bank of England] ordered". She described current trends as a "Goldilocks labour market" where everything was "just right" with rising demand for workers being met by increasing numbers of older people and migrants. Sam Mercer, chief executive of The Employers Forum on Age, said willingness by employers to take on older workers, particularly following the introduction of new age discrimination laws last October, reflected a welcome change in attitudes. She said: "EFA members have found that many people who are given the choice do choose to remain in work even after they are eligible for their pension?.?.?.? as people live longer there is a realisation that they can't afford a 30-year retirement." |