To think part of the increase in long term sickness is the increase in retirement age?

[Lazykitten]

Thinking of the people I know who are long term economically inactive long term (I believe that counted as over 6 months) and nearly all I know who fall into that bracket are my parents and there friends. Dad was a factory sparky and mum was a cleaner. Dad stopped work at i think around 61, mum does part time caring now in her early 60s but really struggles and I can see her having to give it up soon.

Most of their friends had similar manual jobs and now in their mid 60s a lot are signed off sick waiting for pension. These are people who have had manual jobs since they were 15/16 and their bodies are knackered. They can't (and very little point) in retraining now for their last couple of years before they get the state pension.

I work in an office job so can feasibly see how I could work to my late 60s and beyond, but those who've done manual work for over 40 years have the wear and tear on their bodies that they simply can't. As well as other health problems & decreasing energy levels that come with ageing.

There's got to be a sizeable number of folk age 60-67 that fall in that bracket? And taking it further is it another stick to beat the working class with?

Absolutely

I agree

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/dec/24/500000-under-35s-out-of-work-long-term-illness-uk

Half a million under 35s. 44% increase in 4 years.

’More than 1.6 million adults aged 50 and over are unable to work because of long-term sickness amid ballooning NHS waiting lists and an exodus from the British workforce since the pandemic, according to the most detailed analysis yet of official data for this age group.
The number has increased 20%, or 270,000 in three years, according to an analysis of Office for National Statistics figures by Rest Less, a digital community and advocate for over fifties.

Yep!

There's been massive increases in younger people off long term sick too. There are actually statistics available, no need for guess work.

There is absolutely no point in working if you can't support yourself. Might as well be on benefits.

The data will be there to prove/disprove your experience, but as always it’s more complicated than your OP. However, broadly speaking, I agree that a later retirement age doesn’t make allowances for manual jobs.

Yeah I don’t think it’s the older generation going off sick. The ones I know are 30s and 40s.

I retired about a year ago and since then have developed chronic pain in my shoulder and arm, possibly due RSI caused by my work as a secretary. If I was on long term sick leave there is no way I could do the same amount of keyboard work I did when younger. So what would I do for money, assuming I was on long term sick leave after a year.

the Tories are a terrible party and must not be voted back in. They are cruel to the most vulnerable in society.

Yes, I'm sure you're right. I'm a primary school teacher and am really struggling to see how I'm supposed to carry on scurrying around a class of 6-year olds into my late 60s. Given the recruitment and retention crisis, I feel obliged to hang on in there for as long as I can but I'm getting creaky at 50!
I definitely feel that those who serve society in hard manual or physical jobs ought to benefit from their employment status being reflected in their retirement age. Our council's tree surgeons, parks and gardens operatives, cemetery workers, reablement workers, staff in children's homes, refuse collectors, recycling centre workers, dock workers etc won't be able to continue working as late as is now expected, but should be allowed to retire with dignity at an earlier age.

That article says 2.6 million out of work due to illness, and 1.4 million are in the age 50+ category. So it's not bad guesswork

Except benefits don't support you long term either.

YANBU. Also, maybe only one partner is unable to work, but the other takes on a caring role. In a lot of cases I know of, it's not a choice and employers forced early retirement due to sickness record.
I do wonder how much economic benefit there is in raising the retirement age, considering the rise in PIP and carers allowance claims and associated admin.

Also, indirectly, the burden on social care due to women in their 60s often unable to take on their traditional role of unpaid carer to elderly relatives , and the added pressures on childcare due to granny working.

Yes.

I know a little network of women that babysit for me. All in their 60s. All have a list of chronic health issues, as do their husbands.

They can manage day-to-day, but there’s no way they could do a full time job. Their mobility is often not brilliant, and being able to consistently show up and do a good job would be hard.

They do try to get work - but it’s hard for them to find work due to their age and associated health problems vs someone 30 years younger.

These are people that have previously worked for 40+ years in demanding care-type jobs.

Still now several years off retirement.

The ones I know are in their twenties but I think it's an increasing problem at all ages.

I've heard a lot of people (including Rishi) say 'work is good for your mental health', but, for a lot of people, work is the cause of their poor mental health (surely, just about every public sector worker?).

In my last job, nearly all my team were stressed and unhappy by the job.

I don't agree. I was born in 1950,still had ration books. My diet growing up was farm/field, home grown or caught, rural. No junk food. I was nursing over 40 years,trained in 1972, I worked till I was 65, watched people get fatter and less fit. People in their 30s, having strokes and cardiac issues because of drink,drugs. By the 2000s a vast amount of the staff were obese as well. My colleagues used to say how strong fit and healthy I was in my sixties,compared to them in their 30s. I didn't have a cough/cold sickness for well over 15 years,my family can't remember me being ill. We cycled,had a big garden,dogs to walk. Cook from scratch. Regular work outs with weights. A lot of them in their 40s, decided to change to a healthier h lifestyle. My DH was a vehicle technician, heavy physical work, the only reason he had to stop working a year before retirement age was because he fell down a hill walking the dogs on mud, damaged his rotator cuff and couldn't lift. He's up 60 foot trees, pruning. I firmly believe if you don't use it, you loose it. I have friends in their 50s who slob around watching TV eating takeaways.

Agreed. My condition worsens with age,.I love work but the longer they push back retirement the more likely I won't make it to then. I am saving and have a private pension but of course many won't be so lucky

I also know lots of people with my condition who end up very ill because they don't get their claims for PIP (because it is rare and poorly understood) so they push on working full time until they are so ill they can't work at all. We also often get our blue badge claims rejected when that might make the difference between being able to get to work or not.

however, on the other hand, when I did an e-consult to the doctor recently because my condition was flaring I was struck by the fact they signed me off for for several weeks in total without ever seeing me. I imagine if this is happening over the much longer term too (presumably because drs are busy) then there is scope for that to be misused

35 to 45 years in a physical job is enough for anyone.

All very well saying we all live longer but what about our health?

I was made redundant at 59, the DWP lady told me that it would be virtually impossible to get work & that i should take the benefits on offer as i'd worked since i was 16.

She was right, i applied for around 100 jobs, not a single reply.

Now if someone who has a 100% work record, good transferable skills cannot find work, how exactly is someone who has been off sick for ages going to get one?

Sunak is yet again just causing division for electoray gain.

What are their conditions that mean they can’t work?

I don’t know any younger people ‘going off sick’!

Ooh I wonder what began 4 years ago....

COVID didn't just cause long COVID (which in itself is debilitating) it also triggered or worsened other illnesses. I have had my condition all my adult life but it has been much less manageable since repeated exposures to covid

People have never retired at 50 though, so using those over 50+ doesn’t work.
You should be using statistics age 60-67 if you want to prove your point.

Mental health is by far the biggest reason people are off long term sick. Has that got anything to do retirement age?

Whether you know them or not, according to the stats posted above, half a million under 35s are off on long term sick.

In my dad's case his knees gave up so couldn't spend 12 hour shirts scouting around under machinery. But he's also depressed - a common side affect of being physically unwell. He claims for both so I wonder which statistic he comes under?

Off to try and find statistics for 60-67 year olds!!!!

I think the society that has been built since the end of WW2 has peeked and has now begun to topple downwards. Many can't afford homes, one job doesn't cover the bills for a lot of us, the education and health systems are being neglected, we are overloaded with negative news from the media that we can't process and have no way of helping, social media is out of control the food industry is poisoning us, environmental issues are worrying but yet the government can't seem to stop putting profits before anything else, corporate greed is at an all time high and the government seem unable or unwilling to deal with it. All of this is stuff we subconsciously carry around with us. I think we've strayed so far from what's healthy for us that it's making us ill. Just my thoughts.