Britain’s ageing workforce means companies need to change their attitudes towards retirement and get beyond the idea of ‘young talent’, an economist has said.
George Magnus, former chief economist at UBS, made the comments at a breakfast debate organised by speaker agency JLA. He said firms need a structure in place for “returning older talent” and must adapt to “phased retirement” as opposed to “cliff-edge retirement”.
“Phasing retirement over two, five or seven years will be increasingly common,” Magnus said.The Government should raise the retirement age, he advised. “We are all going to work longer,” he said. “With health improvements, there’s no reason to retire.
“There’s only so much the Government can do. Legislation doesn’t solve this. It’s an attitudinal change.”
