Over 50 and not working by choice. Would a ‘mid-life MOT’ tempt you back?

[PuzzledObserver]

www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-64083802

The phrase “not on your nelly” comes to mind.

There are reasons - good ones - why I retired early. They still apply, I’m not bored, I don’t feel my life lacks meaning, and finances are OK. So I’m finding difficult to think of a reason to rejoin the workforce.

How about you?

Not sure I could do the two week changes - most important to me is I work with people I like and respect

What would have boosted the economy would have been not leaving the EU. Not trying to pin this on over 50s

www.itv.com/news/2022-12-20/brexit-costs-government-40-billion-a-year-in-lost-tax-revenue

The BBC has become the new government mouthpiece since that tory donor became the chair

@RunLolaRun102 I know a few working-class people in their fifties with poor literacy. One went on a PC course and can now send emails and do the absolute basics. That is fine for daily living, but will never be anywhere near enough for an office job.

This divides into two demographics.

1. Those wealthy enough to retire early usually after doing highly skilled jobs. Also includes those who inherit so can retire. They will not come back.
2. Those not well enough to do physical jobs any longer but without the skills to do other jobs available. They will continue either being long-term sick or retiring early on tiny amounts of private pension pots - spending it until state retirement kicks in.

I know a fair number of teachers in their 50s who retired early-mainly because they were forced out due to heads not wanting to pay their UPS salaries. After years of being great teachers were ‘suddenly’ found to be inadequate and placed on a ‘support’ plan. They generally took early retirement to avoid having to undergo capability proceedings.

These were great teachers but I don’t know one that would go back with the state that teaching is in now. I also can’t imagine any heads would be willing or able to pay them what they were earning. Sadly there isn’t a shortage of teachers, there’s a shortage of teachers willing to teach under the current appalling mess that has been created over the last 12 or so years.

No way.

i retired early due to mental health.
when my last job made me suicidal, I knew it was time to take affirmative action.

im now able to sleep more than 4 hours a night.

The Eu is in a bigger mess than Britain.

As for the BBC they have always been an establishment mouthpiece fully signed up to all sorts of progressive nonsense

I am retired, and 67 so definitely not going back.

I own my house outright and it is small and energy efficient.

I have a total income of 11k and am comfortable. I run a car and had 2 foreign and one uk based holidays this year, albeit budget options.

Whilst another couple of k would be more than useful, I would be richer than I ever was working if I got more than around 15k as I have none of the expenses of working (travel, clothing, lunches etc)

All a bit patronising if you ask me.
People have left through choice. The ones I know, cant see them going back. I think only quite large financial packages would tempth them back. Maybe. Not a look at their finances by someone!

I started hrt last week, there is no shortage here in Sussex if you need it, see the GP.
Put yourself first

Absolutely not! Nothing would get me back to a "proper" job ever again.

My DH (teacher, 57) & I (GP, 53) have both left the workforce this year. After covid and the changes in general practice, not to mention the media vitirol about GPs, there is no way I'd go back to my old job.

Isn’t it really they want teachers, paramedics, police, nurses, doctors etc to come back due to shortages? I don’t think they really give a shit about anyone else.

A couple of retired police officers I know have already been asked to go back.

And at no point did the govt help - no legal aid, they allow people to be gagged with non-disclosure agreements, they allow women to be treated like shit in the workplace.

They didn't help me when I needed support. Now they can go whistle

@Beercrispsandnuts Probably. But why would they if they can afford to retire? If they had to return for financial reasons they would be more likely to get a less stressful part time job.

It really isn't.

Can you find me a comparable EU country paralysed with strikes right now, with govt bond yields so high (govt borrowing costs) and with 7.2m waiting for treatment and with such terrible labour shortages?

No you will not.

All countries are struggling post Covid and Ukraine but the UK is pretty unique in the extent of these problems & thats down to Brexit and/or the deal Johnson did.

oh and that article is from ITV News not BBC.

I imagine a good few people will disagree with that and with your previous comment but I'll exercise some decent manners and leave it at that in the hope that the OP won't have the thread diverted.

I retired from one job before I was 50 and took up another career but I didn't need to be encouraged by the government. I'm over state pension age and still self employed.

I've someone has retired by choice and is self financing I can't see how the government will manage to tempt them back to work. I suspect they'll be putting pressure on older benefit claimants though.

I don’t know how it works in other jobs, but in teaching, the only salary my (small) primary can afford to pay is an entry level ECT wage. I can’t imagine any retiree would want to leave retirement and go back to work for that salary. This is the reason we are paying a mixture of unqualified ‘teachers’ and HLTAs to take classes-it’s cheap.

Well In things like police you get your pension and a lump sum. So going back can be very lucrative. Many of them put their papers in as it was kind of expected and they took the money.

They have a bloody cheek. Many people in their 50s who have retired early did so because they were made redundant in order for employers to replace them with younger, cheaper workers on worse t&cs. The government itself has done this to hundreds of civil servants. Now they want us back?

Nopety nope nope nope.

It'll be a decent rate that gets me back, not a min wage shelf stacking job, vital though those are. But if it's going to be done via Jobcentres, those will be the ones on offer. I'd quite like to know what qualifications to hand out advice these people will have, as well.

TBH i don't think this is a serious attempt at plugging labour shortages, just window dressing to show they are doing "something"

If they were really serious, they d do more on retention and they are doing absolutely nothing.

Someone pointed out to me last week one of the top 5 skill sets they are currently looking for in the tech sector is interpersonal skills.

Oh and thanks to Brexit and the war in Ukraine there is a shortage of skilled technologists in the UK.

Surely it would be better to make working conditions better, so that 50-somethings wouldn't be tempted to hotfoot it out as soon as they could?

I'm a GP, age 55, and gradually easing my way out by reducing my hours, with a view to full retirement in the next 5 years.

I never planned this when I started out, but years of increasing workload and battering in the media have made the job almost unbearable. If I could afford it I'd quit completely.

It seems such a shame that 50-somethings have effectively been driven out of jobs. We're a group of people who still have our health, and a wealth of experience, but are often treated so badly that frugal retirement is preferable.

I wonder if the Government realise the potential barriers facing older people who want to return to the workplace.

It's easy to say they want older people to return. But how do they see it happening?

Remoaners out of the woodwork.

Anyone see how many MEPs were nicked last week for taking bribes from Qatar. Our own lot are venal enough but this lot take the biscuit.

Fond of Lying was well known as the most incompetent minister in Old Mother Merkel's government but suddenly found herself as the President of the EU Commission - just to be Mutti's mouthpiece

The President of the ECB - Christine Lagarde actually has a criminal conviction for misuse of financial funds for giving €400 million to another criminal Bernard Tapie

The Foreign president - the Spanish one has a criminal conviction for insider trading.

Makes local crooks look amateur