In-work poverty and retirement attitudes among a cohort born in 1958

Background

The aim of this project was to explore retirement-related attitudes, aspirations, expectations, and plans for retirement among adults in their mid to late 50s.

Research details

Project title

In-work poverty and retirement attitudes among a cohort born in 1958

Project lead

Alissa Goodman

Themes

Ageing

Employment, income and wealth

Expectations, attitudes and beliefs

Poverty

Dates

March 2015 – May 2017

Funder

Joseph Rowntree Foundation

Contact

Alissa Goodman

Summary

Using data from the 1958 National Child Development Study, the aim of this project was to explore retirement-related attitudes, aspirations, expectations, and plans for retirement among adults in their mid to late 50s. In particular it examined the impact of different working life trajectories and in-work poverty on these attitudes in mid-life.

The project comprised a quantitative element, which involved analysis of survey responses from the full sample of study members (around 9,000 of them at the latest survey in 2013), and a qualitative element among a subset of (36) study members,  specifically designed and undertaken as part of this project.

The findings from this project are relevant to policymakers and other stakeholders interested in policies related to extending working lives and improving pension savings among adults experiencing low pay and/or poverty.

The project is part of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation’s broader focus on ‘Generations, work and poverty’, a research stream which has compared attitudes to work and retirement across different generations.

 

Outputs

 
News

Baby boomers show deep divisions on the way to retirement

2 August 2017 Substantial numbers of baby boomers, especially lower and middle earners, are expecting to work past state pension age.
Briefings and impact

Lifetime poverty and attitudes to retirement among a cohort born in 1958 - key findings

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Briefings and impact

Lifetime poverty and attitudes to retirement among a cohort born in 1958 - full report

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Briefings and impact

Lifetime poverty and attitudes to retirement among a cohort born in 1958 - appendices

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Researchers

Alissa Goodman Professor of Economics, Director of CLS and Co-Director of the Early Life Cohort Feasibility Study

Phone: 020 7612 6231
Email: alissa.goodman@ucl.ac.uk

Alissa Goodman is Professor of Economics, Director of the Centre for Longitudinal Studies, and Co-Director of the Early Life Cohort Feasibility Study, a project funded by ESRC to test the feasibility of a new birth cohort for the UK. She is a Co-Investigator on two further new national cohort projects, Children of the 2020s and the COVID Social Mobility & Opportunities Study. Alissa joined CLS in 2013 as PI of the 1958 National Child Development Study, having previously worked at the Institute for Fiscal Studies, where she served as its Deputy Director (2006-2012), and Director of its Education and Skills research sector.

Alissa’s main research interests relate to inequality, poverty, education policy, and the intergenerational transmission of health and wellbeing. Alissa was awarded a CBE for services to social science in 2021.

JD Carpentieri Lecturer, UCL Institute of Education

Sam Parsons Principal Research Fellow

Phone: 020 7612 6882
Email: sam.parsons@ucl.ac.uk

Sam has a long history of producing research based on the British Birth Cohorts, from the antecedents and consequences of poor basic skills in adult life, to more recent research focusing on poorer outcomes for children with Special Education Needs, the gendered occupational occupations of teenagers and the long-term advantages for men and women who attended a private school and/or an elite university.

Praveetha Patalay Professor of Population Health and Wellbeing

Phone: 020 7612 6051
Email: p.patalay@ucl.ac.uk

Praveetha’s main areas of research interest relate to investigating the development and antecedents of mental health (both ill-health and wellbeing) and their consequences through the lifecourse.

Jon Swain Senior Research Officer, UCL Institute of Education

Relevant studies

Contact us

Centre for Longitudinal Studies
UCL Social Research Institute

20 Bedford Way
London WC1H 0AL

Email: clsdata@ucl.ac.uk

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