Minister for Pensions, Baroness Ros Altmann, said: "For years I have championed the value of businesses hiring older workers and it's excellent that the number of them in employment, including older women, is now at a record high.
"It's clear employers are changing their attitude to older workers and taking advantage of the excellent skills and experience that they can bring to the workplace.
The workplace is changing and older people face the challenge of "keeping up" with the overwhelming advances in technology. Gone are the days of paper and pencil, it's all about touch screens and webinars.
A couple of major barriers to the Older generation is the physical and cognitive difficulties, people who suffer arthritis, memory loss and deteriorating eyesight find it very challenging.
A study from London School of Economics (PSSRU dept) identified these issues:
- A perception that information and communication technology is expensive.
- Poor Access to adequate broadband and unreliable connections in areas populated by older people.
- Concerns around loss of privacy, fraud and identity theft.
- Lower skill levels due to older adults having left the workforce before, or just around, the time that ICT was becoming mainstream.
It appears that evidence is mixed with some users gaining a sense of achievement and accomplishment whilst other have little or no improvement on wellbeing.
What is evident is that we need action from the government and the public sector to support those that want to embrace the digital world in order to keep them in employment for as long as they want to be there.
Like it or loathe it, we run our business and personal lives Online and getting access to most services requires the Internet so supporting the Older generation is more important than ever.
Boomers are more active and healthier than prior generations and if they are happy to continue working in a job they enjoy then why give it up?
Medical advances have ensured that we are living longer but Boomers may have ignored the basics - have they the money for healthcare and living costs way into the future?
The single biggest reason cited by nearly every study mentioned in the media today for not retiring is the lack of cash.
There have been numerous Pension fund scandals, financial downturns meaning strapped for cash people are contributing less into their pension pots. This coupled with the desire to continue travelling and living the good life has kept the Boomers locked to their desks.
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