Rising pension age hits women hardest

New data from the Department from Work and Pensions on the working patterns of people aged 50 and above showed that our working lives are getting ever longer, as the average age of leaving work rises.

This trend isn’t just down to people’s enthusiasm for work; it’s primarily caused by increases to the state pension age – a change that has particularly impacted the working lives of women.

With state pension age soon to start its rise to 67, it will be interesting to see whether people will work even later in life. Enabling people to work for longer can spell good news for people’s retirement planning, giving them longer to build their pensions or vary their working patterns by going part-time.

However, there are significant challenges, most notably healthy life expectancy.

Not everyone is physically able to keep on working. Poor health can also strike much earlier than you think. According to the data, 44.7% of people who are classed as economically inactive between the age of 50-64 say it’s because they are sick, injured or disabled.

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The other major challenge is caring responsibilities. This can cover not just looking after your own children but also grandchildren and parents. It’s something that can take you out of the workforce at any time. It also disproportionately affects women and is a key component of the burgeoning gender pension gap. More than 18% of women said it’s a reason why they can’t look for work, compared with 7.7% of men.Increases to the state pension age come with challenges such as having a healthy life expectancy and managing caring responsibilities.·Halfpoint Images via Getty Images

These issues have enormous consequences for those who need to leave the workforce in their 50s. Shorter working lives mean less time to build up a workplace pension — and more time when people need to rely on the assets they have been able to build up so far.

The rise in state pension age makes it even more challenging. If you were to leave the workforce at, say 55, you’ve got more than decade before you’ll get your state pension, so how do you fill that gap? It’s an issue that will no doubt be an important part of thinking around the ongoing review into state pension age.

In the interim, it also means everyone needs to consider their own position if they were forced to finish work earlier, and whether there’s anything they can do to protect themselves. This can include anything from taking steps to build a bigger pension to investing in an ISA they can access if they need to before their personal pension is available.

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For those leaving work for caring responsibilities, it shows the vital importance of enabling flexible working to help people balance work and caring. This, alongside good quality affordable childcare, will make it easier for parents to keep working where they can.

The 50-plus population still has a lot to offer the workplace, and current challenges risk a significant loss of expertise for businesses. It also risks forcing people to stop work at a time when they still want to contribute. Allowing extra flexibility for older workers can mean both parties continue to benefit.

Read more:

Why relying on inheritance for retirement is a bad idea and what you could do instead The state pension is set to rise — here's how much it could go up by next April Why lifelong housing costs are derailing retirement planning for older people

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