Early retirement rises by 71 per cent with an estimated quarter of a million new pensioners by 2014
Wednesday, September 11, 2013 @ 12:01 AM
WORKERS who have retired since the start of the financial crisis have increased in number by 71 per cent as a result of mass redundancies and uncertainty about the future, according to the ministry of employment.
The improbability of finding another job for those already in their 60s, the fear of losing their existing one, and lack of work for the self-employed contributed hugely to the number of people who decided to collect their State pensions early, even though they knew they would receive less money.
And large national and multi-national firms which made hundreds or even thousands of staff members redundant en bloc offered early retirement packages to older workers where possible to soften the blow, instead of laying off younger, working-age employees who would face hardship through not being able to find another job for months or years.
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