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November 4, 2022
The cost of living is rising and everyone is feeling the pinch. No matter your age, if you have bills to pay, food to buy or a vehicle to run, soon your money will need to stretch a lot further. The problem is, what can you do about it? Reducing the amount of money going out may work but this may only be a short-term solution. Once the influx of money becomes insufficient, the amount of money earned needs to increase.
This brings to mind the Charles Dickens adage:
“Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen nineteen and six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six, result misery.”
Increasing your annual income may sound like a workable solution if you already have a job – you can improve your position or work more hours. But what about those that have already retired? Could it be that inflation is pushing them to re-enter the workplace?
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) tells us that there are far more people aged fifty and over looking for work. If we dig deeper, we can see that this increase is coming from former retirees returning to work, and not from older people working longer. Research carried out by Restless.co.uk has shown that people who believed they could retire and live a leisurely existence have found themselves short on income, mainly due to the cost of living increasing. The result is that many have to leave retirement and re-enter the workplace.
Having produced a ‘budget into retirement’, to many it seemed that their pension would tide them over. Imagine the shock when reality showed that expenses were chipping away at the monthly income in a dangerous way. State pensions increased by 3.1%, whilst inflation jumped by 9.4%. Emergency action had to be taken and for many that came in the form of increased earnings. Age UK has also reported that many retired people were rushing to return to work. For many, this was the only way of dealing with the sudden increase in the cost of living. The government have helped a little by dishing out winter fuel payments but even this is not enough to cope with the hike in fuel bills.
Retirement budgets that appeared easily workable a year ago are no longer viable. It’s bad news for those that looked forward to taking their foot off the pedal and enjoying a leisurely pace of life into old age. Inflation has risen like a monster, with many retirees returning to work struggling to cope due to health issues. Even with private and state pensions added together, many have found themselves short of money.
The other problem is that the sort of work suitable for retirees is much in demand. It’s no easy task to find a job that pays enough without putting extra pressure on your health. The ONS asked 12000 people between 50 and 70 years of age if they were considering returning to work. The results showed that one in three of those within the 50-64 age bracket and one in ten of those over 65 said yes. Restless.co.uk carried out a similar poll. 32% said they were considering returning to work (or had already returned) and 70% said they had to say goodbye to retirement due to inflation.
If you fall into this category and are struggling to find suitable work, talk to our team. We can’t reduce the rate of inflation but we can help you to find a position that will enable you to keep the wolf from the door.
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