‘Ludicrous and unfair’: Older workers speak out on retirement age changes
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Around the world, governments are looking at raising retirement ages as populations live longer and public finances tighten.
The International Monetary Fund of France claims people are healthier and more capable of working later in life, but this view has met strong opposition.
While this debate plays out internationally, many Australians are watching closely as similar questions about retirement age and fairness arise at home.
Governments worldwide are considering raising retirement ages as populations age and public finances tighten, but the response from workers has been far from united.
The French International Monetary Fund (IMF) urged countries to encourage older, healthier workers to remain employed longer to ease the strain on public budgets.
The IMF claimed ‘the 70s are the new 50s’, presenting data that showed a person aged 70 in 2022 had cognitive abilities comparable to the average 53-year-old in 2000, alongside significant improvements in physical health.
With public debt reaching record levels, the IMF argued governments could no longer afford to allow able older workers to retire early and proposed raising pension ages, cutting early retirement benefits and encouraging people to work longer.
In Australia, gross government debt surged from $534.4 billion in March 2019 to $885.5 billion by April 2022, reaching its highest level relative to GDP since the 1950s.
However, thousands of people from around the world expressed fierce opposition to this approach in a Guardian poll, describing the idea as ‘disgusting’, ‘ludicrous’ and ‘unfair’.
‘Seventy is not the new 50. That’s propaganda,’ said a 63-year-old NHS administrator from Dundee who had worked since age 18 and looked forward to retirement, feeling exhausted by work travel and longing for freedom.
Concerns were raised that people in physically demanding, low-paid jobs would suffer most if retirement ages increased.
Deanne from North Lanarkshire highlighted the inequality: ‘[It’s] people from lower socioeconomic backgrounds who will need to stay in work as they won’t have private pensions and they are the demographic that tend to have poorer health.’
Robert Mcalone, a 60-year-old bricklayer and builder from Bournemouth, shared his personal struggle, saying he hoped to retire at 67 but found each day increasingly difficult despite being fit and healthy.
‘I left school at 16. Before that I worked in hotel kitchens at 14, 18 hours a week. Then construction as a bricklayer builder. I’m 60, fit, don’t drink or smoke, and I’m finding every day a struggle. Fortunately I have my own house and savings, but not enough to retire until 67. I’ve built many houses, schools and hospitals in my time – I think I’ve put back enough into society.’
Anne, 66, who worked night shifts at a homeless hostel, said working longer was tough and exhausting.
‘It’s increasingly challenging. I often sit at work crying due to the effort. It takes me longer to recover from an 11-hour shift. It takes me two days of being off to physically recover.’
She added that many women also cared for grandchildren to allow their children to work because childcare was either unaffordable or unavailable.
Many people believed older workers had already contributed enough to the system.
A 61-year-old event manager from Nottingham said: ‘Older workers have already done their bit and paid into the system.’
Hundreds of respondents complained about rising taxes and declining public services.
Samuel, an HGV driver from Cumbria, described it as ‘disgusting’ to pay taxes for healthcare and pensions without getting to enjoy their prime years.
‘The government is asking us to pay into a system for healthcare and pensions, and increasingly we get less and less.’
Adam, an aircraft maintenance mechanic, added: ‘We are paying higher contributions than ever before. I have paid into the system, I want to get back what I paid in.’
Many argued that government mismanagement of public funds was the real cause of financial strain and called for spending cuts in areas like immigration, foreign aid and benefits before increasing retirement ages.
Andrew, 68, from Northamptonshire, who retired at 60, said: ‘The government should stop throwing taxpayers’ money down the drain on foreign aid and funding support for illegal immigrants and abolish unaffordable civil service pensions. Look after our own elderly and homeless first.’
Some criticised benefits for the growing number of economically inactive people under 65.
Susan, a factory worker from Hull, asked: ‘Why should we work to [70], put more in for people who don’t work?’
David, 66, from Sheffield, said he was ‘able to work [to 70] but unwilling to pay for people’ who had ‘contributed nothing’.
Others highlighted the indirect costs of older workers remaining in paid employment, especially the strain on social care and childcare services.
A 60-year-old primary school teacher from East Anglia explained that older workers often cared for elderly relatives, spouses or grandchildren, and longer working lives could push these responsibilities onto state-funded services.
They also noted that many older people contributed through volunteering, providing vital support to charities and local communities.
Age discrimination in the workplace was another major concern.
Susan Chardin, 71, an editor and English teacher from Bayeux, France, said: ‘Governments want [baby boomers] to stay in work, but companies discriminate against older workers.’
She added that without government policies to protect older workers, societal prejudices would continue to block their employment.
In contrast, some supported the IMF’s stance and shared positive experiences of working beyond traditional retirement ages.
Erwan Illian, 72, a retired cabinet maker from Berkeley, California, said: ‘That’s what I did. It was a financial necessity but also a choice. I was born in France. Retiring at 64, the legal retirement age in France, is in my view ludicrous and selfish. It strains public finances at a time of increasing monetary difficulty all over the globe.’
Lewis, 50, a senior rural estate manager for the Ministry of Defence in Bath, said: ‘I’m game. I’d do this for myself, my family, for society. I don’t want to wither away once I retire. Work and social contact stimulates and refreshes.’
He warned: ‘If we don’t work older, then there will not be enough tax in the system – my son’s generation will be under enormous pressure.’
Malcolm Chevin, 74, from Walton-on-Thames in Surrey, who returned to work after ‘retiring’ in 2010, said: ‘I decided aged 67 to go back to work as I needed to do something on a more regular basis. I now work in the food hall at John Lewis on Oxford Street.’
Despite a cancer diagnosis in 2022: Malcolm said: ‘I have no intention of stopping work. I enjoy the camaraderie and in fact am taking a fishmonger apprenticeship.’
David, a town planner from northern England, predicted resistance to raising retirement ages, explaining that ‘retirement is seen as a right’, but noted: ‘as the cost of living increases, retirement is looking like an unaffordable luxury for the future.’
In a previous story, we explored some of the challenges faced by Australians approaching retirement.
If you want to understand more about what happens after you stop working, make sure to read on.
The next article delves into the complexities of navigating the Age Pension system at 67.
With retirement ages becoming a hot topic around the world, how do you feel about working longer before calling it quits? Share your thoughts in the comments.
The International Monetary Fund of France claims people are healthier and more capable of working later in life, but this view has met strong opposition.
While this debate plays out internationally, many Australians are watching closely as similar questions about retirement age and fairness arise at home.
Governments worldwide are considering raising retirement ages as populations age and public finances tighten, but the response from workers has been far from united.
The French International Monetary Fund (IMF) urged countries to encourage older, healthier workers to remain employed longer to ease the strain on public budgets.
The IMF claimed ‘the 70s are the new 50s’, presenting data that showed a person aged 70 in 2022 had cognitive abilities comparable to the average 53-year-old in 2000, alongside significant improvements in physical health.
With public debt reaching record levels, the IMF argued governments could no longer afford to allow able older workers to retire early and proposed raising pension ages, cutting early retirement benefits and encouraging people to work longer.
In Australia, gross government debt surged from $534.4 billion in March 2019 to $885.5 billion by April 2022, reaching its highest level relative to GDP since the 1950s.
However, thousands of people from around the world expressed fierce opposition to this approach in a Guardian poll, describing the idea as ‘disgusting’, ‘ludicrous’ and ‘unfair’.
‘Seventy is not the new 50. That’s propaganda,’ said a 63-year-old NHS administrator from Dundee who had worked since age 18 and looked forward to retirement, feeling exhausted by work travel and longing for freedom.
Concerns were raised that people in physically demanding, low-paid jobs would suffer most if retirement ages increased.
Deanne from North Lanarkshire highlighted the inequality: ‘[It’s] people from lower socioeconomic backgrounds who will need to stay in work as they won’t have private pensions and they are the demographic that tend to have poorer health.’
Robert Mcalone, a 60-year-old bricklayer and builder from Bournemouth, shared his personal struggle, saying he hoped to retire at 67 but found each day increasingly difficult despite being fit and healthy.
‘I left school at 16. Before that I worked in hotel kitchens at 14, 18 hours a week. Then construction as a bricklayer builder. I’m 60, fit, don’t drink or smoke, and I’m finding every day a struggle. Fortunately I have my own house and savings, but not enough to retire until 67. I’ve built many houses, schools and hospitals in my time – I think I’ve put back enough into society.’
Anne, 66, who worked night shifts at a homeless hostel, said working longer was tough and exhausting.
‘It’s increasingly challenging. I often sit at work crying due to the effort. It takes me longer to recover from an 11-hour shift. It takes me two days of being off to physically recover.’
She added that many women also cared for grandchildren to allow their children to work because childcare was either unaffordable or unavailable.
Many people believed older workers had already contributed enough to the system.
A 61-year-old event manager from Nottingham said: ‘Older workers have already done their bit and paid into the system.’
Hundreds of respondents complained about rising taxes and declining public services.
Samuel, an HGV driver from Cumbria, described it as ‘disgusting’ to pay taxes for healthcare and pensions without getting to enjoy their prime years.
‘The government is asking us to pay into a system for healthcare and pensions, and increasingly we get less and less.’
Adam, an aircraft maintenance mechanic, added: ‘We are paying higher contributions than ever before. I have paid into the system, I want to get back what I paid in.’
Many argued that government mismanagement of public funds was the real cause of financial strain and called for spending cuts in areas like immigration, foreign aid and benefits before increasing retirement ages.
Andrew, 68, from Northamptonshire, who retired at 60, said: ‘The government should stop throwing taxpayers’ money down the drain on foreign aid and funding support for illegal immigrants and abolish unaffordable civil service pensions. Look after our own elderly and homeless first.’
Some criticised benefits for the growing number of economically inactive people under 65.
Susan, a factory worker from Hull, asked: ‘Why should we work to [70], put more in for people who don’t work?’
David, 66, from Sheffield, said he was ‘able to work [to 70] but unwilling to pay for people’ who had ‘contributed nothing’.
Others highlighted the indirect costs of older workers remaining in paid employment, especially the strain on social care and childcare services.
A 60-year-old primary school teacher from East Anglia explained that older workers often cared for elderly relatives, spouses or grandchildren, and longer working lives could push these responsibilities onto state-funded services.
They also noted that many older people contributed through volunteering, providing vital support to charities and local communities.
Age discrimination in the workplace was another major concern.
Susan Chardin, 71, an editor and English teacher from Bayeux, France, said: ‘Governments want [baby boomers] to stay in work, but companies discriminate against older workers.’
She added that without government policies to protect older workers, societal prejudices would continue to block their employment.
In contrast, some supported the IMF’s stance and shared positive experiences of working beyond traditional retirement ages.
Erwan Illian, 72, a retired cabinet maker from Berkeley, California, said: ‘That’s what I did. It was a financial necessity but also a choice. I was born in France. Retiring at 64, the legal retirement age in France, is in my view ludicrous and selfish. It strains public finances at a time of increasing monetary difficulty all over the globe.’
Lewis, 50, a senior rural estate manager for the Ministry of Defence in Bath, said: ‘I’m game. I’d do this for myself, my family, for society. I don’t want to wither away once I retire. Work and social contact stimulates and refreshes.’
He warned: ‘If we don’t work older, then there will not be enough tax in the system – my son’s generation will be under enormous pressure.’
Malcolm Chevin, 74, from Walton-on-Thames in Surrey, who returned to work after ‘retiring’ in 2010, said: ‘I decided aged 67 to go back to work as I needed to do something on a more regular basis. I now work in the food hall at John Lewis on Oxford Street.’
Despite a cancer diagnosis in 2022: Malcolm said: ‘I have no intention of stopping work. I enjoy the camaraderie and in fact am taking a fishmonger apprenticeship.’
David, a town planner from northern England, predicted resistance to raising retirement ages, explaining that ‘retirement is seen as a right’, but noted: ‘as the cost of living increases, retirement is looking like an unaffordable luxury for the future.’
In a previous story, we explored some of the challenges faced by Australians approaching retirement.
If you want to understand more about what happens after you stop working, make sure to read on.
The next article delves into the complexities of navigating the Age Pension system at 67.
With retirement ages becoming a hot topic around the world, how do you feel about working longer before calling it quits? Share your thoughts in the comments.
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