Pension reforms to keep over-50s in work are being considered Jeremy Hunt said ... trends now
Pension reforms to lure over-50s back into the workplace are being examined by ministers.
In a major speech on the economy today, Jeremy Hunt called on older people who dropped out of the workforce in the pandemic to return to help ease chronic labour shortages.
Hinting at financial incentives, the Chancellor said: 'To those who retired early after the pandemic or haven't found the right role after furlough, I say: "Britain needs you" and we will look at the conditions necessary to make work worth your while.'
Whitehall sources said this could mean raising the £1million lifetime allowance on tax-free pension savings.
In a major speech on the economy today, Jeremy Hunt called on older people who dropped out of the workforce in the pandemic to return to help ease chronic labour shortages
Hinting at financial incentives, the Chancellor said: 'To those who retired early after the pandemic or haven't found the right role after furlough, I say: "Britain needs you" and we will look at the conditions necessary to make work worth your while'
This limit has been blamed for driving thousands of doctors and other professionals into early retirement.
'We are looking at pension reform to ensure that people aren't disincentivised from working longer,' a source said.
The key objectives are to encourage people back into work – and deter them from leaving in the first place.
The Government is also examining proposals to expand 'mid-life MOTs' to include pensions advice for people considering retiring early, amid fears that thousands are quitting the workforce without enough savings to properly fund their retirement.
A source said: 'We want to get to a situation where if someone is thinking of retiring early they first sit down with a pension adviser and discuss whether it makes sense to retire.
'At the moment, many find they either run out of cash or realise they can't afford to live.'
The pension shake-up is one of a range of ideas being considered as part of a major 'workplace review' led by Mel Stride, who is the Work and Pensions Secretary.
Ministers are also looking at childcare reforms designed to make it more attractive for stay-at-home mums to return to work.
People with mental health and back problems will be given additional support to do whatever jobs might be suitable.
And ministers are considering tightening the benefits regime to make it harder for people to claim handouts when they could be in gainful employment.
Around 2.2million people registered long-term sick could face requirements to look for employment for the first time.
Mr Hunt said today that around five million working-age Britons were choosing not to work – a figure he described as 'an enormous and shocking waste of talent and potential'.
He added: 'We will never harness the full potential of our country unless we unlock it for each and every one of our citizens.
The UK has some of its lowest unemployment figures in half a century, but employment has also fallen, with a spike in people being classified as 'inactive'
The number of people off work because of long-term sickness has increased by around half a million since early 2019, figures show
