Who are all these ‘economically inactive’ 50 year olds

[Orangetapemeasure]

The government is trying to encourage 300000 or so ‘economically inactive’ 50+ year olds back to work. Who are these people and what do they do?
I can imagine some people in their 60s deciding to retire early, but I don’t know a single 50 year old who has or could afford to give up work. In fact I know several previously SAHM who are only launching their careers in their mid 40s. I’m mid 40s with a good 15-20 years left to work.
MN please enlighten me.

From reading these retirement threads it seems everyone hates their jobs and is desperate to retire asap.

I was a SAHM for 14 years, not always through choice. Looking back some of that time felt like semi retirement as DCs were both at school and I used to meet friends for lunch, have days out, do sport and hobbies and we went on amazing holidays whenever the kids were on school holidays.

I'm working now and love my job and have no desire to leave any time soon. But I think now it's because I didn't work for all those years and don't feel as exhausted or burnt out as some other people who worked when DCs were young etc.

Lots of them will be women being unpaid (is economically inactive) carers for their elderly parents

most care is still given by daughters

i don’t know a single woman my age (50s) who does not work. Just that some work without pay, caring for the older generation, caring for a sick husband, or looking after children who are disabled of have SEN

the “economically inactive” is kind of insulting and evokes ladies-who-lunch visions which is surely fairly rare. They exist, but I don’t know many

One of our good friends age 54 who has retired. His wife is the same age and is likely to retire later this year.

Another is 52. He's looking at going part time and retiring in a couple of years. His wife is 48. She's likely to retire when he does.

Another is 58, he's retired. His wife works part time.

The fourth couple in a friendship circle have no plans to retire as they enjoy work but I'm sure could.

We are considerably younger. Our financial situation is vastly different as a result. I can't see DH retiring in his 50s unless he gets an attractive opportunity to do something he loves tbh. He enjoys working.

@growinggreyer that is spot on for my DP except for qualifications bit..he has an Msc. Stopped looking in the last 2 years has been for about 10 years he is now 59.

I'm one of those op.

We moved house to a different area and I put off job hunting for a few months. Husband got cancer - lots of hospital appointments, procedures and ops. Final op seven years later seems to have cured it. Then daughter and grandchildren left abusive husband and needed almost full time practical and emotional support. They still take alot of my time usually last minute.

Also some of the years during menopause made me mentally unfit for work.

Fortunately my husband is high earning and not given to resentment.

Almost forgot. Mum had dementia. Dad had stroke. Mum died.

My DH and I, we are 54 and 56 and have been retired for 18 months. Mortgage is paid off and we have one and a half millions in pension plus separate savings. We are extremely fortunate.

We will reassess our lives when my wealthy in-laws die, likely to be while we are still in our 50s. I don't think it will be enough to live on, but it might give us hope of retiring in our early 60s rather than working til almost 70.

I can only think of one person who retired at 50 (in the last ten years) - an NHS doctor who worked hard, invested well, never married or had children and likely also inherited £ from parents at about that age. He's now living the life of Riley holidaying at least 4 months / year.

I'm late 50s and work FT. Despite having a good job, because I'm a single parent I can't see me retiring any time before I'm mid-60s. I just can't afford it.

I'm lucky that I do enjoy my job - but it is really hard work. I'm exhausted by the time I get to the weekend. Im going to be on my knees by the time I actually do retire.

What I do find interesting/concerning is that I don't know any other women of my age at my place of work. I'm older than everyone in my office. In some cases by 30 years!

I look around me and am sad I have no peers but I'm also very jealous that women are able to retire so early.

If I could retire tomorrow I would. I can't see anyone who's already retired rushing back to work. Why would they?

My dad is one. Ended a job 5 years ago and became depressed (and won't get help). DM works and can fund the house but also now he's in such a state he can't / won't work. A
job would do his mental health wonders as think the lack or contact with others is driving the spiral but don't know how the government can encourage people like him when we as a family can't!

Not all will be retired, quite a few I imagine will be SAHMs

This is a really good point. I've worked since I was 16, I have had no extended periods of time out of work and plan to quit work in my 50s.

I just see it as taking that time out later. While SAHP take it earlier

Wish I could retire, I'd be off like a shot. I have at least another 15 years of corporate nonsense and bad management ahead of me... I did have to take a couple of years out due mainly to ill health in my late 40s and am now very unwilling to burn out again. As a result I've decided to stay at a level I think I can mostly sustain although the volume and intensity of the workloads following COVID have me reeling some days. Employer expectations of what's reasonable are way out of kilter with the number of total hours in a week, never mind a working week.

My observation is also that employers mainly seem to want bright young 23 year old new grads these days, can't pretend it's not a little galling to see them on a salary it took me years to reach... though not as galling as the fact they all think they know it all already...and the senior execs who hired them seem to agree!

Almost all of my friends retired 55-57, now travelling, living in their second homes abroad etc. Several had second homes (sometimes more) in London or the SE which they bought many years ago on interest only loans. They sold a year or so ago and cashed in so now have up to a million in cash savings. All long term public sector workers. Others have had large inheritances. One or two made redundant after covid but able to take unreduced final salary pensions. Our generation was probably the last to benefit from low house prices relative to income in our 20's.

There is no way any of them would return to work - these are social workers, teachers, senior civil servants, charity workers, local govt workers. They don't need the money and are fulfilled travelling and enjoying themselves whilst still relatively healthy.

DP is one of those. He would love to be back at work but there are jobs that, legally he cannot do and ones where it is "not advisable" to do. He spent 15 years doing a job he loved before he was made redundant but because he doesn't have an "official" qualification in it, employers won't even consider him. Experience counts for nothing these days. He has savings but (and here's the catch), it's not enough to pay for the course to get qualified, but too much to get help. He'll keep looking for work but he has resigned himself to the fact that he may never work again.

I don't hate my job, I'm just knackered! I've worked FT for nearly 40 years. I got 10 months off for maternity leave and have been a single parent since DD was 3. I don't know how I managed to do it... but I'm running out of steam now. I'm sure it's the same for many. If you could retire you would. So I can't see many returning...

Road Tax I had was £20 a year (2016 qashqai)
Fuel - worked out I was spending about £1000 a year commuting
Maintenance was about £300 a year
Innsurance £550
£50 car cleaning products.

call it £2k to run a car - now not required.

Food - i don’t eat anything like that - am a soup luncher at home, but work was motorway service stations, fast food places, coffees, call it nearing £10 a day, now it would be £10 a week. Saved approx £2k on that.

clothing - correct long gone are the suits. Thank goodness.

Work events - hated them tbh, but at least 1 a month, call it £1k a year.

Assume average uk salary the above is nett of tax, ni and pension deductions. Cost of working is £416 a month - or £5k a year…. Factor in tax, ni, pension at 20%, 13%, 6% so almost 40% = £8600 headline salary cost of work - just accounting for car, food and work events.

there were more costs, for me personally and I was above average salary, but you can see how true cost of working adds up. other costs, profession that requires recertification, extra training or seminars that i had to fund, 40 hour working time directive never applied to us, so anything that needed doing around the house, either got left or put out to the trades even though I could much of it myself.

Now I can mend and make do, can walk somewhere I used to drive to, we can travel at cheaper times, and I have greatest luxury of all…. Time. Work never made me free, investing did. Lol.

Snap! Public sector workers who both took early retirement on what sounds like a spookily similar scenario/deal........both 53 when we finished.
Within 6 weeks of finishing work we had rented out our UK house and moved abroad.That was 3 years ago
We were sent letters about 18 months ago asking if we wanted to return to work in our previous department🙄🤔 After considering their very kind offer, for all of 30 seconds, it was a no from us! 😂

I know quite a few former NHS workers whose contracts mean they can retire and claim their pension at 50 and so they have. That’s your tax money folks!
( NHS staff on newer contracts do not have this perk).

I think that the over fifties thing is a complete red herring.

They'd be better off encouraging employers to offer real reward and progression to pull workers up the career ladder into these positions. Diversify the roles and divide responsibilities if that's needed. This will create a chain of progression from lower down.

Five workers with more money to spend in their pockets, rather than trying to tempt one person back into work when they don't want to.

Reading these sorts of threads makes me feel really down. Me and dh are mid-50s and no way can we retire until 67.

We have been mortgage free for over 15 years, no savings and frugal living as I was sahp for 10 years.

Don't know how people do it. I'm feeling really envious. Now I have dc who are off to uni. They won't get full loan so that's even more money to pay out.

However, would I have wanted my life different? No. Just worries me that we're heading to retirement with less than £250 000 between us.

I'm early 50s and gave up work 2019 due to looking after an elderly parent and a child with a chronic health condition. We have now paid off our mortgage and inherited from my late Mum so I haven't needed to return to paid work. Finding something to fit around my child's needs is difficult and not worth the stress

I am 58 and a GP .. not in Uk so no NHS pension . Just about paid mortgage off.
my ‘part time” hours are 40 hrs per week… I would have gone insane if I had worked full time… usually 70 plus hrs per week
i am nay now starting to think about retirement… I will probably continue to work 30 plus hrs per week until at least 65… or f I had made myself insane with 70 plus hrs per week I could have probably retired at 60… but my health would have been severely compromised.

I'm 55. One of my friends my age has retired, but she had done 38 years of final salary pension and this was enhanced for her to go. Good for her. She will probably take a part time job anyway.
For the rest of us, no way. But I suppose if any of us inherited from parents, it might be different.

Hmm I’m one of those, I don’t need to work due to DH’s career and ge will retire before 60. I became a SAHM in my 30s and never went back to work. I have my own hobby business that keeps me busy and covers its costs and I do exactly what I want to do. I know I’m fortunate.