By Steve Ranger, 24 October 2005 12:50
NEWS IT executives have unrealistic dreams of retiring at 65, as most are likely to have to work well past that.
And to compound the problem for older workers, age discrimination continues to be widespread in the IT industry, according to research by the Chartered Management Institute and the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.
Three quarters of IT workers questioned said they are hanging on to the expectation that they will retire by the age of 65 - even though they believe that the age of retirement for the average person in 10 years' time will be 66 or older.
Tech execs need a reality check on their retirement expectations, said CIPD diversity adviser Dianah Worman: "Our research shows that most managers expect everyone to be retiring later within 10 years - except themselves. There is a growing acceptance that the average worker is going to stay at work beyond 65. But no-one seems to think it applies to them."
Three-quarters of IT workers questioned said they plan to work part time towards the end of their working life.
But only a quarter of IT organisations offer part-time working to older employees, or career advice to older workers.
The research said: "This suggests a worrying mismatch between what employees are expecting and what employers are offering."
Despite an ageing workforce, age discrimination is still rife - three out of five IT respondents claimed they had suffered because of their age. And one in five admitted that age influenced their recruitment decisions.
Half of IT respondents said they had suffered age discrimination when applying for jobs, and two out five said their age had hindered promotion.
Petra Cook head of public affairs at the Chartered Management Institute said: "Approximately 80 per cent of the workforce for 2020 is already in employment. As such, organisations will need to focus on upskilling and reskilling their current workforce."
Comments
There are 10 comments. Join the discussion
1. Alan C. Larman
Anyone who's in the right job won't want to retire! I got my last IT job at 59 and, if I hadn't been made redundant at 63, would still be working in IT. I'm now a supply teacher and, at 66, have no intention of retiring. And I'm still getting IT job offers, - but supply teaching (including teaching IT) now suits me better.
2. anonymous
Working after 65 is really unrealistic.
I am now 60 and do not expect to work past 62 - fortunately I can afford to retire. If I were to be made redundant, I do not expect to be able to get another job in IT, although headhunters call from time to time!
In principle, my company permits part time working, but this is only taken up by mothers at the moment, as far as I know, and it is a signficant handicap when people are not available.
If I needed to stay employed, I would be worried. Politicians are not living in the real world when they talk about working to 70 for many of us.
The big issue is why the pension funds always lose money when there is a stock market fall - why don't some of them sell before hand ! Then we could afford to retire and enjoy life fully.
Perhaps we need a home-worker Broadband-based IT development environment so that age is not visible to manager, colleague or client, and only the work products count. This sounds a bit like offshore development, but much simpler to set up.
3. anonymous
I'm 30 and the prospect of having to work until I'm in my 70's is complete madness! The way I see it is that we are put to the grind stone as soon as we leave school, and are expected to just die out and not have to claim our measly pensions, all the time being taxed beyond belief! Slave labour is alive and well in this country... I'd like to see the Politicians work on till their 70's like the rest of us!
4. Sarah
I do think that employers are missing a trick with older IT professionals in the same way that companies like B&Q have realised this the benefits of recruiting older staff.
There are plenty of skilled IT folks out there over 40, who have the relavent skills. I do feel that the real problem to ageism in IT though is recruitment consultants who are very often a barrier to employers.
A friend of mine is a recruitment consultant and her company have an unwritten policy of favouring younger candidates when forwarding CV's to clients.
5. Charles Smith
I worked for 35 years on the basis that if I paid in to the company(s) pension plan that I would receive a reasonable pension. It was a contract of employment.
Now employers and the Government are trying to welch on that deal. This is largely because companies underfunded pensions during the 80's and 90's. I can remember the "experts" saying to the companies - "take a pension holiday".
Meanwhile Directors salaries and pensions have mushroomed out of control.
It is time for companies to face up to their responsibilities or for their directors to go to jail. Only this harsh reality will focus their minds.
6. Stuart Fawcett
I'm looking at the big 40 in a year or so.
Working from 17 to 40 - that 23 years of graft & study. But a quick reality check, if i work to 70 i still have over 30 more years to work - I'm not even halfway there!
In fact since leaving University at 24, i've really only been a professional for 14 years and so have 32 years left - not even a third of the way there yet - I stilll have two thirds of my professional life left!
Lets hope employeers don't stop hiring those over forty.
7. Richard Sarson
Here are some do's and don'ts for oldies:
1.. Steer clear of major corporates. They are institutionally ageist.
2. Avoid people laughingly called "human resource consutants". They will always chuck your CV in the bin.
3. Stay as invisible as you can. An old face is a turn-off.
4. Network like hell from age 35.
5. At 40, examine what you are really good at, which is unlikely to be what you have been doing for the last 20 years.
6. Get help from a shrink about this, as he/she is likely to see you more clearly than you can yourself.
7. Make sure your spouse works too, as your pay will drop like a stone from 40 onwards.
8. Be self-employed.
All this has worked for me, after 52 years in the IT industry.
8. Anon
Conflict of statements here! So we're all expected to work beyond 65, but even now ageist employers won't hire folks, say, beyond 45-50, because of their age? Ok, so if we all have to work beyond 65, then there should be someone who is doing the hiring of folks over 50 - who the heck are they, and where are they?! If we can't get a job now at age 50, who the heck do you think is going to hire anyone over 65?!
9. Ray Winter
If you want a good retirement, work for the government as the rest of the population pays for you, there's no ageism and downsizing is unheard of, and it's also the only place where increasing the use of IT means more people.
10. madhusudhan
with the kind of health prblms techies are facing,due to lack of exercise,strees,sitting in a chair for a long time etc. I don't think they will be able to work until 65