The move to increase the age from the Department for Work and Pensions ( DWP ) has the potential to be “positive” for people’s health, according to personal finance experts.
The state pension age is changing for people born in certain years. The move to increase the age from the Department for Work and Pensions ( DWP ) has the potential to be “positive” for people’s health, according to personal finance experts.
The Insistute for Fiscal Studies, or IFS, directors James Banks, Jonathan Cribb, Carl Emmerson and David Sturrock has conducted a study which found one in ten women affected by the pension age rise will remain in paid work for longer.
And paid work has positive effects on cognitive functioning for women in their early 60s, it found. “We found that being in paid work is good for the cognitive functioning of women in their early 60s, on average,” the IFS economists reported.
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The researchers noted: “This suggests that it is those who live alone, who are more likely to see a drop in social interactions upon retirement, who gained the most from the stimulation of work.”
“For the quarter of women working in sedentary jobs that did not involve a lot of movement, working worsened physical disability,” the economists reported.
The IFS stated: “These results mean that longer working has the potential to be positive for at least some health outcomes. However, the effects depend importantly on the type of work being undertaken and the activities and environment of people’s retirement.
“Policymakers should therefore consider encouraging social interaction and physical exercise in retirement. Our research suggests that this would have positive effects on maintaining cognitive function and physical mobility through older ages.”
The State Pension age in the UK is due to rise from 66 to 67 starting next year, with the rise anticipated to be fully realised for both genders by 2028. This change to the official retirement age has been a part of UK legislation since 2014, and a subsequent hike from 67 to 68 is scheduled to occur between 2044 and 2046.
