Baby boomers opt for business over retirement

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/pensions/4885180/Baby-boomers-opt-for-buiness-over-retirement.html

Baby boomers opt for business over retirement
A generation of "olderpreneurs" is choosing new ventures instead of retirement, according to a new study.

By Laura Donnelly

Almost one third of people aged 45 to 65 want to work in later life, a proportion which rises sharply among the most wealthy, according to research by investment firm Standard Life.
Policy experts said the research, which found that one in 20 "baby boomers" wanted to set up their own businesses in retirement, showed that given the right incentives, a new class of "olderpreneurs" could help pull Britain out of recession.
Those approaching retirement age were twice as likely as their parents to choose to continue working, the poll found.
Andrew Haldenby, director of the think tank Reform, said the findings demonstrated a "quiet revolution that is turning traditional ideas of retirement on their head".
"Policy-makers need to take notice of this fundamental shift in ambition, and instead of telling this generation to slow down and retire, incentivise them to kick start our economy," he said.
If all the older people who wanted to set up their own business went ahead, the number of UK firms would rise by 50 per cent, Mr Haldenby said.
He urged policy-makers to harness the potential of "the greying end of the population to form a new group of enterprise champions".
The poll of 1,500 people born in the 20 years after the Second World War found 29 per cent wanted to do some kind of work "on their own terms" after retirement age – a choice which had been made by just 15 per cent of their parents.
A parallel survey of 1,000 "baby boomers" from the most affluent sections of society found 45 per cent did not want to stop working.