Over-50s have abandoned the workforce – here’s how to bring them back

It’s critical that we understand why so many people in the latter stages of their working lives left their jobs, if they are to be persuaded to return, writes Ian Hamilton

As with most issues, there isn’t one single factor that led to this mass resignation by the over-50s (Getty Images)

One of the consequences of the Covid pandemic was the “silver exodus” from work, where an estimated 300,000 people aged 50 and over retired early.

The chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, recently highlighted the issue in a speech, outlining a need to attract this group back into work. Workforce shortages are reflected in the low levels of unemployment that have emerged since Brexit and the pandemic. The over-50s are viewed as an important way in which this overall fall in available working age adults can be addressed.

However, it’s critical that we understand why so many people in the latter stages of their working lives left their jobs if they are to be persuaded to return. The Office for National Statistics carried out one of their deep dives into this phenomena in an attempt to unpick how and why this group left work in the numbers we’ve seen.