Michael Falk, vice-president and chief investment officer of ProManage LLC Management, said having older people continue in the workforce not only retained knowledge in the business or institution, but increased the number of people contributing to overall economic activity in the country.

The American was speaking on the topic Retirement And Behaviour In Our Defined Contribution, at a Chartered Financial Analysts (Barbados) seminar at the Grande Salle of the Tom Adams Financial Centre, The City, recently.

Falk said that with more people carrying debt such as mortgages, some workers really could not afford to retire at 65.

While he gave no specific age at which people should retire, he said the "magic number" was just beyond 65.

Using data from the United States, he told local professionals that 40 per cent of workers there were very confident about having enough money for the basics that they needed during their retirement years.

However, he noted that when asked if they had enough to cover medical expenses, that percentage dropped to just 20.

"Most people are not confident about having enough money to be able to retire . . . . So are we setting up people to fail? If we know they can't amass what it takes, are we setting them up to fail?" Falk queried.

He added: "It is not good for people to stop working and it is not good for economies."

Due to the growing number of older people and the reduced birth rate across most developed and developing countries, Falk said most countries would move towards phased retirement.

And while ongoing work was dependent on the health of the worker, he said phased retirement offered potential benefits for employees to remain active in their 60s and even 70s while receiving an income to supplement their pensions.

"You keep the brains in the company and . . . the society in general and it reduces the dependency ratio," by increasing the number of people on whom those not in the workforce could depend. (GE)