Retirement is in crisis and employers, as well as employees, must plan for the future

The idea of working 9-5 until you receive a gold watch at age 60 is dying out fast. Millennials seem to have the biggest millstone around their neck: a survey of under-35s by Prudential found that over a third of millennials believe that, despite saving as much as they can, they are never going to save enough for a comfortable retirement. The cost of living longer in retirement is pushing the average retirement age higher, and millennials’ struggle to fill their pension pot will lead to them postponing retirement even longer.

Changing generational trends could be affecting productivity in business too. Companies who look closely at their baby-boomer employees’ retirement plans are looking at a perfect storm. Official statistics this year show a record 10.21 million workers aged over 50 in the UK and a huge 38 per cent of the US work force will be over 55 by 2020, according to the US Bureau of Labor statistics.