Read: CPC 23 - Why a Midlife MOT is a vital tool in retaining older workers
The UK population is aging. By 2030 half of all adults in the UK will be over 50. A third of the UK workforce is already this age. At the same time there is also a shortfall of young people entering employment.
Retaining older workers has never been more important but rising numbers are leaving the workforce because they believe they are financially secure enough to retire early or because they don’t have the right skills or confidence to get a better job or because they are suffering from poor physical or mental health.
The last few years have demonstrated the importance of financial resilience, with cost-of-living pressures forcing many to re-evaluate their lives and the arrangements they had previously made. The Purpose Coalition hosted an event at the Conservative Party Conference today in Manchester - Retirement Resilience: How can the Midlife MOT help us plan for later life and stay in employment? - which highlighted a new approach to help better prepare older workers.
The discussion panel was led by Purpose Coalition Chair and former Education Secretary, Rt Hon Justine Greening, and Guy Opperman, Minister of State for Employment who introduced the first Midlife MOTs in 2022 when a Minister at the Department for Work & Pensions and XX from Coalition partner, Reed in Partnership. It looked particularly at Reed’s experiences when running one of the successful pilot schemes in East Anglia.
The Midlife MOT is a review for workers aged 45-55 that helps them take stock of their work, wealth and wellbeing and enables them to better prepare for their retirement and build financial resilience. Employers can sign up to the scheme to offer free assessments to their older workers to help give them clarity and confidence about how to shape their future at work and beyond. The aim is to get them to stay in work longer by helping them why and how they should remain in work, including the financial benefits, help with work-life balance and ongoing continuous professional development.
Older workers are often some of an organisation’s most experienced and skilled employees so it makes good business sense to make every effort to retain them. It demonstrates a commitment to age inclusivity in the workplace, it helps develop a more skilful, motivated and productive workforce, supports employee wellbeing across a range of important issues and reduces absenteeism through health support. There is no cost to the employer as funding is provided by the DWP.
