To worry what job I can do at 70?

[myotheraccountsa]

I'm of an age that I'm going to be working into my 70s most likely due to changes in pensions. I work in tech, fairly senior, and the reality is - there's no way in heck I will be doing this job in my 70s. Probably not even in my 60s. Whilst of course companies technically can't fire based on age discrimination they can find a whole myriad of other reasons. My company are endlessly making redundancies. There is literally nobody over a certain age in my line of work here - it just doesn't fit with the whole innovation / transformation / new technology buzz.

I'm sure plenty of others are in a similar boat even if not in tech.

So that's got me worrying- what will I do when I'm older? I've worked in this field all my life. I'm great at it but have no other real skills! We have a huge mortgage that we'll be paying off pretty much forever. What sort of jobs are people expecting to get in their later years? And is it actually that easy to get them?

Working in tech surely gives you an option to work from home. I don't know what age you are now, but if you know this is coming, surely you need to plan ahead to give you the best chance to get into a line of work you can do into old age.

There’s loads of job opportunities at your age. I know people who’ve worked until 77 / even 90 - age is no barrier

I don't really know what working in tech means, but is there an option to support users of older tech, maintaining and fixing thier systems instesad of being in the side innovating new tech. Lots of stuff hangs around for ages.

I wouldn't worry about it - the workforce landscape will likely be very different by then. Focus on the now!

I'm 50 and already always the oldest woman in my sector at conferences etc. Older white men are no problem - everyone wants to employ a silver fox right? But older white women? They aren't there. Work will dry up.

I've no idea what will happen. I've been saving like mad in anticipation but I still need to work. I also have limited mobility which I can get away with when most things are virtual, but it rules out most jobs. It's fucking terrifying.

It’s not just maintaining income, can you reduce your outgoings? Will you be able to downsize- lower mortgage and heating costs etc?

How old are you currently? This may be a silly question but have you time to do something so you don’t have to work into your 70s?

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i work in tech… not that senior tho. But whilst I agree the workforce will be different in 20 years I’m planning for it my retirement, both financially and skills. I’ve started a volunteering role where I do something massively outside my comfort zone to try to keep physically and mentally fit in a way my very cushy (if occasionally stressful) IT job doesn’t stretch me. We’ve also not got a massive mortgage but still in the ‘starter’ home so I can sink at least £1000 pm in my pension… partner is doing the same.

If you are indeed senior in tech you’re surely financially and project management savvy. You need to apply those skills to your personal life and plan now. I’m not senior enough but also non-exec board jobs should be on your radar.

I think the age range in tech employment will change over the years.

It's an industry that doesn't allow people to stagnate and years ago people probably thought they were on to a cushy life.

Those who really want to stay in tech will make sure they remain current by continuous training and together with their experience will stand a better chance of remaining in their roles.

Would you consider downsizing your house to reduce your mortgage if that is the thing keeping your working into your 70s or is it a dream home that you can't bear to leave? I work in healthcare and couldn't stand the idea of doing it into my 60s so got a small affordable house that will be paid off long before it's an issue.

I am also 50 and one of the oldest woman and even person in my workplace. The over 50 tend to be in very senior positions and are mostly men. I often wonder where all the older people go. I am in the finance sector.

"Working in tech" is meaningless. What branch? What specific areas do you work in, what specific softwares or hardwares? Are you a technical support, an analyst, a programmer, a tester, website/app designer, or what?

Personally, I'd have thought that anyone with IT skills will be in demand right into their pensioner years. It's the kind of job that's ripe for working from home, part time work, self employment etc.

Even doing domestic IT support, such as setting up, re-installing operating systems, loading programs onto domestic PCs and laptops, or setting up iphones transferring data/apps/photos from one phone to another, setting up home email accounts, etc. There's always people on our local Facebook pages looking for local people who can do that kind of thing. Ideal for someone with a bit of IT knowhow to do in retirement working a few random hours per week to beef up a pension. Lots of small businesses and self employed need help setting up databases, book-keeping software, websites, e-commerce shops, etc., that it could be made into a virtually full time self employment.

For more specialist skills, there'll still be support and help needed for older/rarer operating systems and software long after they're out of fashion as loads of people and organisations have legacy systems. I still do a bit of work occasionally on Novell networks and dos PCs, which is absolutely crazy as it's about 30 years since they were basically obsolete, but some people/organisations still have archives based on very old PCs and networks! Not so long ago, I helped a small business recover some very long lost data from a geriatric PC using the old dos based Sage Line 50 book-keeping system - it had been hobbling along being cranked up for historic sales history information every month or so when an old transaction needed to be checked and verified, but finally, inevitably, died. I have a cupboard full of old PCs and laptops, going right back to the 80s, with all kinds of old desktop software and knew I had a few old versions of Sage on some of them, so I gave it a try, loaded up the clients' ancient set of floppy disks backup and hey presto, we managed to access the data they needed - as an added extra (chargeable of course), I did a full data dump onto a csv file, converted it into Excel, then into an Access database and handed it all back to them - not perfect, and not all data recoverable, but probably 90% and they were delighted. I can do that and I've had no formal IT training nor education - just what I've picked up along the way.

Rather than expecting to find an employer with a ready made job that you can walk into, perhaps you and other older workers facing retirement, etc., should be considering self employment as it's really an excellent option for people wanting to work from home, or work part time, or have flexibility around other commitments such as childcare, hospital visits, holidays, hobbies, etc.

Many go self employed using the skills and experience they've gained in 30 years of permanent employment.

I have a small accountancy practice. The majority of my clients are over 50, many, probably 25% are over state retirement age and still working in some capacity, mostly part time. It's a very eclectic mix from dog groomers, driving instructors, web designers, IT consultants, financial advisers, solicitor, surveyor, audiologist, physiotherapist, sports massage, personal trainer, as well as more traditional cafe owner, guest house owner, etc. One client used to be a high earner in financial services and "retired" and is now a full time dog groomer. Another was a nurse who retired and is now a potter/sculptor/artist. That reminds me another was an IT consultant who retired and became a very successful artist.

I think it's more and more common for newly retired people to change direction and do something completely different. Just as common for people to retire from a full time job and do the same thing as a self employed/freelancer really. It depends on your job and what your transferrable skill base looks like, as well as your interests etc. Turning a hobby into a small business is a particular common/popular thing for someone when they have the time after retirement (and money from the tax free lump sum or redundancy payment).

Not everyone spends their redundancy or tax free lump sum on a bolt hole abroad, a caravan or new cars. Lots use it to finance the next stage of their life.

I disagree entirely. "Now" is the time to learn transferrable skills, broaden your work experience base, take courses, etc. Otherwise you'll stagnate and will really struggle in years to come when employers/clients need new/different skill sets. Staying on the crest of the wave is a lot easier than falling behind and having to scramble to catch up. CPE/CPD should be lifelong, not just for work, but for personal things too. That's why so many people are now struggling with modern tech, both in the workplace and at home - rather than keeping up with gradual/incremental changes over the years, they've fallen behind and really struggle when they "have to" use modern tech, such as parking apps, or internet banking/shopping etc. They've had plenty of time to start using it as all have been around for a decade or two, but they've chosen not to bother and now really struggle when the alternatives are taken away as they're so far behind and the "gap" is too big to bridge. That's a personal/domestic example, but the same applies in employment/business etc. Too many "plodders" showing no interest in the rapid changes and developments in their organisation/career/trade/profession who'll end up isolated and lagging behind when their "plodding job" comes to an end and they have to look for alternative employment etc.

Older white men are no problem - everyone wants to employ a silver fox right?

Not so sure about that, certainly not in the current climate.

Yes - the thing is, I never got very senior! Stepped back when I realised I HATED managing idiots people. So now I'm a mid-level old lady, which is just NOT normal.

I don’t want to reinvent myself at my age. I don’t want become a dog groomer and actually I would love to plod a bit. Nothing wrong with plodding, but where are the jobs for 50/60/70 year old plodders?

I have managed mostly idiots for over 10 years 😵

Would the first thing to do not be to look at your finances? Your current lifestyle and how to fund a retirement?

Do you need a massive mortgage on the terms you currently have? Can you downsize? If not know, then before retirement age? Extract value from the home?

Private pension? Investments? What do you do with your income currently? Do you save or spend? Can you save?

None of my retirements calculations include the state pension because I don't trust it'll be there for me when the time comes either. I have 24yrs until my current state pension age.

I'd look at reducing outgoings. Paying off mortgage, downsizing. I think working at 70 will be an issue for a large number of people once the pension age rises.

I would have thought a seventy-year-old can do just about any job that involves sitting at a computer or in meetings most of the day.
You will have to make sure you get exercise outside of work.

Obviously, most types of manual work would no longer be doable, nor would jobs involving a lot of standing (such as teaching or nursing).

The real question is about what kind of salary you think you will want/need.
Are you willing to start again at the bottom? How much time and effort can you put into re-training?
Then you have to deal with ageism in the interview process.

There will always be junior jobs in administration, accounts, HR, IT support, etc. Every company has these. Get into one of these roles, low stress and low responsibility, and just stay there until state pension age.

The charity sector might be an idea or you could become a tutor and teach your skills either in person or remotely. Also funeral companies tend to prefer more mature employees.

I would look at it differently. If you're senior in tech, I assume you're managing teams of people? If so, then I would start pivoting to Ops. You're completely, 100% correct when you say that ageism is rife in tech.

I'm also in tech, moved into cyber security 2 years ago. There's a skills shortage in cyber where being older works for me. However, I manage several teams who all do different tasks. My role is at a level where i'm hands-off of the technology and am now running a range of operations across the business. I can see that my future is going to be (hopefully) COO rather than CTO/CIO.

I won’t be working at 70! Can’t you plan & save now for an early retirement?