Working past retirement a popular option

New research from age issues charity Help the Aged and Age Concern has revealed that 60 per cent of over 50's are planning to delay their retirement if it would mean a higher pension.

The results yielded from a survey conducted on almost 1000 respondents and mirrored the results of a similar survey carried out by the Financial Times/Harris on over 1000 adults.

In both surveys, 60 per cent of those questioned said that they would favour working longer in order to boost the value of their pension. The findings reflect the current state of the economy and negative effect it has had on many people's pensions and savings fund.

The Help the Aged and Age Concern charity also discovered that 47 per cent were more worried about their pensions now than they were six months ago at the start of 2009.

Redundancies have increased across the board, with many over fifties finding that they are much less secure in their jobs. The office of national statistics reveals that unemployment among over 50's has increased by 47 per cent, resulting in a climate where many are extremely keen to hang onto their jobs and ready to work longer in order to be sure of a decent pension fund.

Michelle Mitchell, charity director for Age Concern and Help the Aged, expressed her concern at the latest figures:

"These figures paint an extremely bleak picture for millions of over 50s whose working lives are at risk of being cut short by the recession," she said.

"Those who do lose their jobs will face significant obstacles to getting back into work, leaving them financially vulnerable as they approach retirement."

"For many over 50s, one of the lasting legacies of this recession will be a retirement blighted by poverty."

At the other end of the scale, young people are finding themselves excluded from the jobs market, with over half of Britain's companies not planning to recruit any new graduates for the next few months.

During difficult financial times it seems that companies are favouring experience over youth and fresh ideas, perhaps wary of trying anything new when the market is so unstable.

Research from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development has found that only 1 in 5 UK companies are currently willing to take on 16 years olds, while 1 in 3 have cut the number of graduates they are recruiting.

The Prince's Trust, a charity which focuses on alleviating youth unemployment with training programmes, has seen a massive increase in the number of people applying to them for help.

In the past year, the number of people calling the Prince's Trust has risen by 50 per cent, as more and more young people are unsure about what the future holds for them as they find themselves unable to break into the jobs market.

One recent graduate felt so disheartened by his apparent inability to secure a job despite having a higher class degree in economics that he said "I don't even know why I bothered studying for this qualification, it just feels so pointless now."

I am a journalist with diverse experience working both online and in print. I started out in South America writing for a widely distributed tourist newspaper before returning to the UK to write financial and legal articles. I am currently employed at Debt Doctors Foundation UK, a charity which offers advice and support for those facing debt. Visit http://www.ddukonline.com/ to find out more about the charity and http://www.investment-times-magazine.com/ to see more of my work.