Steve Doughty - Time to Retire at 80 汉译

Early retirement will be a thing of the past in the next millennium, new research predicts.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

In 25 years’ time, people will go on working until they are 80, rather than finishing in their 50s or even their 40s, it says.

And the ‘grey power’ consumer boom fuelled by older folk—which has already made its mark on the economy—will go on spreading, until a fifth of the nation’s spending is controlled by them.

The report, produced by a think-tank attached to food and leisure group Sodexho, paints a rosy picture of the fate of present generations as they advance in years.

As well as being fit enough to work, they will be able to enjoy their leisure and money at later ages than those who are elderly now, it says. More than one in six older people will be classed as ‘active’, nearly a third more than their current numbers among the elderly population. ‘Active’ people are those who are keen to get involved in work and hobbies and who take easily to new technology.

The proportion of older people who can be classed as ‘frail’—now nearly two-thirds—will fall by five per cent as longer life expectancy, longer working lives and better medical care take effect.

Life itself will go on at least ten years longer. At present, men can expect to live to 74 and women to 81. In 2005, the report predicts, life will stretch on average to 85 for men and 93 for women.

It points out that at present, despite its ageing population, Britain is one of the youngest countries in Europe, with fewer than one in six—under ten million—over 65. After a dip in the next few years, numbers will rise rapidly to around 13 million over 25 years.

The retirement age will be pushed back as more people demand to work longer, the report forecasts. In 2010, most will work until 70, in 2020 until 75 and in 2025 until 80. Many will start their own businesses or volunteer for charities.

The longer working lives and growing wealth will mean a continuing expansion of the grey consumer phenomenon.

Professor Anthony Warnes, of Sheffield University, says in the report that they will represent a greater proportion of purchasing power, rising from 21 per cent of GDP to 20 per cent.