The Platinum Pound

Anchor is urging businesses across the country to sign the Age-friendly Employer Pledge to make workplaces more age-inclusive, and calling on government to remove barriers to working in later life.

The Platinum Pound, a new report by cross-party think-tank Demos, supported by us, has revealed that the drop in employment of people in later life is having a detrimental impact on the UK’s economy. We are calling for action to empower our ageing population, bolster our economy and celebrate the contributions, skills and experience of older people.

Exploring the social and economic impacts of older people being excluded or overlooked, Anchor welcomes the Platinum Pound report and we urge our political parties to consider and act on the policy solutions within it.

Highlighting the need for policies that empower and enable older workers to continue contributing should they choose to do so, the findings come amidst the cost-of-living crisis, rising inflation, skills shortages and recruitment and retention challenges across many industries. 

Key findings:

• The UK economy could unlock £6.6bn a year by returning to pre-pandemic later life workforce levels
• An additional £1.2bn a year could be unlocked by returning to pre-pandemic rates of later life volunteers
• 800,000 later life workers want to re-enter the workforce
• The number of older workers has fallen by 182,000 since 2019
• 330,000 older workers stopped working because they couldn’t get the flexibility they needed
• Over 1 million people have experienced age discrimination at work

Policy recommendations from the report include:

1. A tax-free £1,000 Priority Jobs Bonus – for all workers over 55 working in shortage occupations and earning less than £50,000 a year
2. Subsidise occupational health services for employers – to help improve the health of older workers and reduce long-term sickness
3. Mandate large public and private sector employers to provide redundancy employment support programmes for employees over 50 years old.

Download the full Platinum Pound report here

Our ageing population has incredible potential that is being missed

Listening to the experiences of our residents and colleagues, and to those who have participated in the report, the message is very clear - our ageing population has incredible potential, but many are being excluded or overlooked in the workplace.

Unlike other countries, the number of people aged 50-64 in the UK workforce has fallen since 2019. We must meet this anomaly head on. With 800,000 people later in life who want to re-enter the workforce, it’s critical that we remove barriers to working in later life.

We believe that people in later life can help address our nation’s employment crisis and futureproof the economy - but more can be done create inclusive environments and ensure older people are better supported. 

Now is the time to act.