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Over-50s UK workers outnumber populations of Scotland, Wales and N. Ireland
23 Jan 2019
Today’s official employment figures1 report a record number of people aged 50 and over in the UK labour market – 10.6 million.
This population now represents nearly one in three (31%) of all workers, up from one in five (21%) when these records began in 1992.
The state pension age is rising for both men and women, so we can expect this population to keep growing. The responsibility is on employers to ensure they are supporting workers in their adaptation to a longer working life.
Commenting, Alistair McQueen, Head of Savings and Retirement at Aviva said:
We’ve never seen a population of this age and size in work. They are record breakers. 10.6 million people is more than the populations of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland combined.2 And as the state pension age for men and women is now rising, we can expect this population to keep growing.
However, more must be done by employers to support these record breakers in a fuller working life. We continue to see a collapse in employment participation as we progress through our 50s, from nearly nine in ten active in the labour market at age 50 to less than one in two as we approach our mid-60s.3 This represents a huge waste of talent, experience and potential.
Aviva is investing in “mid-life MOTs” for its workers aged 45 and over.4 These MOTs have been designed to help people manage their work, wealth and wellbeing at this critical midway point in their lives. And we are investing in apprenticeships for all ages, including those in their 60s.
Aviva is committed to ensuring that age is no barrier to opportunity in work.
We are the UK's leading diversified insurer and we operate in the UK, Ireland and Canada. We also have international investments in India and China.
We help our 19.2 million (as at 31 December 2023) customers make the most out of life, plan for the future, and have the confidence that if things go wrong we’ll be there to put it right.
We have been taking care of people for more than 325 years, in line with our purpose of being ‘with you today, for a better tomorrow’. In 2023, we paid £25.6 billion in claims and benefits to our customers.
In 2021, we announced our ambition to become Net Zero by 2040, the first major insurance company in the world to do so. We are aiming to have Net Zero carbon emissions from Aviva’s operations and supply chain by 2030. While we are working towards our sustainability ambitions, we recognise that while we have control over Aviva’s operations and influence on our supply chain, when it comes to decarbonising the economy in which we operate and invest, Aviva is one part of a far larger global ecosystem. There are also limits to our ability to influence other organisations and governments. Nevertheless, we remain focused on the task and are committed to playing our part in the collective effort to enable the global transition. Find out more about our climate goals at www.aviva.com/climate-goals and our sustainability ambition and action at www.aviva.com/sustainability
Aviva is a Living Wage, Living Pension and Living Hours employer and provides market-leading benefits for our people, including flexible working, paid carers leave and equal parental leave. Find out more at https://www.aviva.com/about-us/our-people/
As at 31 December 2023, total Group assets under management at Aviva Group were £376 billion and our estimated Solvency II shareholder capital surplus was £8.8 billion. Our shares are listed on the London Stock Exchange and we are a member of the FTSE 100 index.
For more details on what we do, our business and how we help our customers, visit www.aviva.com/about-us
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