UK government considers abolishing retirement age
The UK government is stuck between a rock and a hard place as it battles against the ever-changing population breakdown of the UK. For the first time ever there are now more pensioners than children in the UK due to a longer lifespan for the UK population and a lower than expected birth rate. When you also bear in mind that pension funds have suffered dramatic falls over the last couple of years there are real problems brewing for the UK authorities.
As the rate of growth in the UK population continues to decline there will be fewer and fewer people paying into the state income pot, while at the same time more and more pensioners will be claiming state benefits. The government is now seriously considering scrapping the former retirement age of 65 and allowing employers to work beyond this age. This in itself creates more potential problems for employers, many of which may prefer to take on younger staff who they can train up for the long term, who are likely to be forced to maintain a certain percentage of older staff.
On the surface the UK pension crisis may look straightforward, but underneath the surface there are many other sub issues and subplots appearing.
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