Union warns of pensions and retirement ‘time bomb’

The UK is facing a pensions and retirement “time bomb” amid fears of the impact on workers of increasing the state pension age, a leading trade union is warning.

Unite said its research showed that many would not be able to continue working in key roles amid plans to accelerate the introduction of increasing the state pension age to 68.

A survey of more than 10,000 Unite members in construction, health, passenger transport and road haulage/warehouse produced “overwhelming evidence” that workers do not believe they can continue in their present jobs to the existing state pension age of 66/67 – let alone any later, said the union.

Almost nine in 10 respondents who work in the health service said they do not believe they can mentally continue to undertake their current roles beyond the age of 66.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “The UK is facing a pension and retirement time bomb. Tens of thousands of workers will be forced out of employment due to the physical and mental demands of their work, but will be too young to receive the state pension.

“The Government needs to urgently rethink its entire strategy of expecting workers to work even longer. A failure to do so will consign workers to the misery of being too old to work but too young for a pension.

“Plans to accelerate the introduction of the state pension age to 68 are clearly unworkable.”