Work really is the secret of eternal youth

The UK’s pensioners have discovered the secret of eternal youth and are turning long-held stereotypes on their head, according to a major new report commissioned by FTSE 100 life and pensions company Friends Provident.

The Freetirement Generation report, undertaken by social trend researchers the Social Issues Research Centre (SIRC) reveals that it is work that it is keeping the nation’s older generation young.

Retired baby boomers – people aged between 52 and 60 – are casting aside recent portrayals of people trying to buy back their youth by bungee-jumping or skydiving, and are choosing to continue working but only the work they want to do and at their own pace. Baby Boomers have high work expectations in retirement including: continuing to work but without the stress, becoming involved in charities, and exploring new professions.

Nearly a quarter (24%) of baby boomers questioned as part of the Freetirement Generation report said they had the freedom to choose the work they wanted to do, while 22% said they work for social contact and could now enjoy work without the stress and responsibility of the rat race. Nearly a third (31%) of retirees planned to spend a large proportion of their time working.

Dr Peter Marsh, author of the report at SIRC, said: “For some, retirement is no longer a question of work or not work, but a chance to choose how to structure work later in life. Without the financial pressures of supporting a family or the competitive stress of forging a career, employment takes on a different meaning. This group of people have actually achieved the work/life balance that the younger generation aspire to.”

When asked to select statements that they agreed with the most, more than three-quarters (76%) of respondents said that being old is more about how you feel than your actual age and nearly one in two (47%) thought retirement and old age were old-fashioned terms that did not accurately describe the last decades of life.

The report also uncovered a generation of retirees who, on average, feel 17 years mentally younger than their birth age - while the average age of a baby boomer is 57, they actually feel more like a 40 year old.

Jeremy Ward, head of pensions marketing at Friends Provident, said: “The Baby Boomers find themselves in a unique position – they’ve worked through periods of relative economic prosperity and have experienced rocketing house prices which means many of them now have money to spare.

“Far from being a chore and a necessity, work is a major component of their identity and self worth. However, it looks like it is going to be a different story for the current generation. If they want to enjoy the same sort of freedom and choices they need to start planning for their future now.”

Friends Provident has launched a specially designed website for consumers as part of its ongoing commitment to the Freetirement Generation. Visitors to the interactive site should log on to friendsprovident.com/freetirement.