Wealthy Brits shun retirement

Older Worker

A survey conducted by Barclays Wealth has discovered that well-off Britons are more inclined to work beyond their retirement age than any of the other nations quizzed.

The survey was carried out in 20 developed countries, and in the UK two thirds of people who could be described as wealthy stated they had no plans to retire, and wished to continue working.

According to Barclays these “nevertirees” are going to rise in numbers as more and more people choose to shun a traditional retirement, this will come as good news for the UK government who are currently in the process of doing away with the default retirement age of 65 in a bid to encourage more people to work till a later age and fund their retirement themselves.

Barclays interviewed more than 2000 high net worth individuals, people who have investable assets exceeding £1 million, around the world and 60 percent of the Brits said they’d continue to work until they were physically unable. This compares to 54 percent in the USA, 46 percent in Japan, 44 percent in Spain and 34 percent in Switzerland.

This seems to represent a shift in the outlook of current workers, Greg Davies of Barclays Wealth said: “Whilst in previous generations there have always been an energetic few with the health and drive (to keep working), many looked to create their wealth early on in life with a view to enjoying it when they retired. This report reflects a different attitude, with wealthy individuals wanting to continue to challenge themselves well beyond the traditional retirement age.”