Older men in manual jobs unlikely to be working till 70

Mature age males lacking formal qualifications are most likely to leave the labour force involuntarily, a recent report shows.

Conducted by National Seniors Australia, the research investigates why older people are leaving the workforce, what sorts of people are at risk of premature retirement, and their financial outcomes post-employment.

It found that people between the age of 50-69 who were manually employed without a high school or tertiary qualification had a 52% likelihood of having left their job because of illness, injury or disability.

By contrast, people with both high school and non-school qualifications in office jobs had a 23% likelihood of having left for health reasons.

National Seniors Australia CEO Michael O’Neill said it was important to recognise the barriers to mature age employment at a time when the Government is encouraging people to become more self-sufficient in retirement.

Mr O’Neill said the Government’s recent Federal Budget announcement to push the eligibility age for the Age Pension to 70 by 2035 will place high-risk groups in danger of premature unemployment, unless the barriers to working longer are properly addressed.

“The Government has introduced a number of policy interventions to promote longer working lives, including wage subsidies and gradually increasing the pension age,” Mr O’Neill said

“But without determining the barriers to working longer there is likely to be a significant proportion of older people out of work in the future.”

He said the report highlights the vital need for increased investment in training and reskilling opportunities targeted at mature workers, particularly ageing males in manual labour jobs.

The report showed that most people who had been unemployed for at least 12 months relied on a Government pension or allowance as their primary income.

Of this group, approximately one half of males received the Disability Support Pension.

“The report’s findings underline the difficulties many mature age people experience while trying to remain in physically demanding manual occupations at an age where such roles may not be suitable for their physical capabilities,” Mr O’Neill said.

“There remains a lot of scope for employers to modify the type of work and job tasks to facilitate people with health issues to stay in the workforce for longer.”