Standard Life Centre for the Future of Retirement shares top tips for people in midlife navigating career moves

id

• Three in 10 (30%) 45-54-year-olds expect to change career before they retire, with only two thirds (65%) of Gen X satisfied with their job
• Over two fifths (44%) of adults say they would be interested in getting information about career options, and yet the same proportion had never thought about getting careers advice previously
• Leaving work at 55 could result in £92,000 being lost from pension pot, compared to working to age 68
• With recent articles shining a light on the challenges people in midlife face because of a difficult labour market, ageism and redundancy, the Standard Life Centre for the Future of Retirement shares practical tips to help people manage change today without losing sight of their long-term retirement goals

Most people expect to change career at least once during their working lives, and this has become increasingly common for people in midlife. With research from the Standard Life Centre for the Future of Retirement previously finding that three in 10 (30%) people aged 45-54 expect to change career before they retire, with a further 25% saying they don’t know if they will.¹

The ability to work for as long as you want or need to is an important part of financial security in later life. Yet one in seven workers (14%) are dissatisfied with their job, with Gen X the least satisfied generation. Just 65% of Gen X workers say they are satisfied in their role, compared with 72% of Millennials and 76% of Gen Z workers. ²

Despite this, people in midlife are often less likely than younger workers to receive support when considering a career change, even though many may face challenges such as ageism, caring responsibilities or health issues that affect their working lives.

With the Pensions Commission warning that 15 million people are under-saving for retirement, helping people remain in fulfilling and sustainable work for longer is increasingly important. Supporting workers to build new skills, adapt to changing job markets and move into new roles throughout their careers can help strengthen both their financial resilience today and their retirement prospects in the future.

For people in midlife, a career setback that leads to leaving the workforce earlier than planned can have a lasting impact on retirement savings, particularly if getting back into work proves difficult. Illustrative Standard Life analysis shows how much can be missed in the later years of a career through lost pension contributions and investment growth.

Someone who continues working and contributing until age 68 could build a final pension pot of around £210,000 (assuming starting salary is £25,000 and the starting age is 22). Leaving work at 60 could reduce this to around £149,000, £61,000 or 29% less, while leaving at 55 could result in around £118,000, £92,000 or 44% less.

Potential final pension pot at different ages*
Age of leaving work	Final pension pot	Difference vs working to age 68
68	£210,000	-
60	£149,000	-£61,000
55	£118,000	-£92,000

^{*Assuming 3.50% salary growth per year and 5% a year investment growth. Assumes starting salary is £25,000 and the starting age is 22. Figures allow for 2% inflation. Annual Management Charge of 0.75% assumed. Minimum workplace pension contributions of 5% employee and 3% employer assumed. The figures are an illustration and are not guaranteed. Earning limits not applied. The value of investments can go down as well as up and may be worth less than originally invested.}

The figures underline why career support in midlife can matter for retirement too. Falling out of work at 55 or 60 does not just mean losing earnings today, if someone is unable to return to work, they can also miss crucial years of pension contributions and investment growth. For someone who needs to start drawing on their pension or other savings earlier as a result, the financial impact could be even greater. Finding a role, working pattern or career change that enables someone to remain in work for longer can therefore play an important part in protecting their longer-term financial security.

Changing direction can be one way to stay in work for longer, but making a career move in midlife can feel financially daunting, particularly when worries about pay, starting again or whether a change is affordable come into play. The steps below from Cath Sermon, Head of Public Engagement and Campaigns at the Standard Life Centre for the Future of Retirement are designed to help people test those concerns, understand their options and make a decision with a clearer view of both their finances today and their retirement plans.

1. Get your motivations and mindset ready for change – “Don’t rush into a career change if you don’t have to. You need to get your mindset and motivation ready for a change, think about why you are looking to change. What you are looking to get out of it, reflect on highs and lows in your career history and look forward. For Gen Xers having choice and control over your retirement is inextricably linked to forward career planning, think about how long you need and want to keep working and in what way.”

2. Take stock of your skills and speak to others – “If you have spent a long time in one role or industry, it can be easy to underestimate how transferable your experience is. If you’re looking to completely change the industry you work in it’s likely that you’ll need to ask for introductions to understand more about a potential new role. We know that only 15% of 45–54-year-olds have received careers advice in the previous three years, compared with two-thirds (66%) of 16–24-year-olds1 Careers support can help people explore those options more clearly and it’s not just for young people.”

3. Experiment – “Look for opportunities no matter how small to try new things out, whether that’s through projects at or outside of work, shadowing someone for a day, or setting up a side-hustle. Think about stepping stones, such as taking on a ‘bridging’ role that gets you closer even if not immediately all the way to the change you are seeking to make.”

4. Think about whether going part-time could be right for you – “If the choice you are weighing up is between reducing your hours and leaving employment, compare those options directly. Part-time work may allow you to keep earning and, depending on the role and pension scheme, continue receiving employer pension contributions. For some people, it can provide a useful bridge into retirement enabling you to continue building longer-term financial security.”

5. Model the move before you make it – “Compare several scenarios, such as remaining in your current role, moving to a new job, reducing your hours, taking a career break or stopping work altogether. Look at what each option could mean for regular pension contributions, your expected retirement date and your projected retirement income. If you’re considering leaving work earlier, also think about whether you might need to start drawing on private pension savings sooner, compared with continuing to earn and save for longer.”

6. Challenge assumptions you make about yourself and money – “Making a career change in midlife can feel daunting, particularly when you have financial commitments, or are worried about what starting again means for your income and savings. People can understandably tell themselves that they are too old, or that they simply cannot afford it because they may have to start at the bottom again. Those concerns are real, but exploring the options and putting some numbers around them can help you understand what may actually be possible. Use our Financing your career change guide to understand practical steps and tools to help you manage the financial side of career changing.”

Notes to editors

¹ – Standard Life Centre for the Future of Retirement, 2023, Careers Advice for Longer Lives
² – Retirement Voice 2025. Research conducted by Ipsos on behalf of Standard Life in June 2025. In total 6,000 participants took part in the online survey. Participants were aged 18-80 and were a mix of working, unemployed and retired people. Quotas and weights were used to ensure the respondents were representative of the UK general population on age, gender and region.

About Careers can change

The Standard Life Centre for the Future of Retirement is a partner with ‘Careers can change’, alongside Amazing If, Brave Starts, Careershifters, Enterprise Nation, Now Teach, Career Returners, Postcards from Midlife and the Learning & Work Institute. The campaign is designed to inspire people, particularly in midlife, to explore career change with confidence and understand the practical steps they can take to make work, work better for them.

About the Standard Life Centre for the Future of Retirement

Standard Life Centre for the Future of Retirement is a pioneering UK think tank with a bold ambition to help everyone achieve long-term financial security.

How we work, save, and retire is changing, and it will look different for everyone. That traditional idea of spending decades in full-time employment and then retiring with a comfortable, guaranteed income is no longer going to be a reality for most people.  

Standard Life Centre for the Future of Retirement uses research to provoke fresh debate, drive action and influence change so that people can secure their financial future and enjoy a decent standard of living in their later lives.

It is led by Catherine Foot, a leading research and policy specialist who was appointed as the Director of the think tank under its previous brand, Phoenix Insights, in June 2021.

Catherine has over 20 years of experience in the field. From 2015 to 2021, she was Director of Evidence at the Centre for Ageing Better. She has also held senior roles with The King’s Fund and Cancer Research UK.

About Standard Life 

Standard Life is a brand that has been trusted to look after peoples’ life savings for over 200 years.

Today it proudly serves millions of customers who come to Standard Life directly, through advisers and through their employers’ pension scheme.

Standard Life is part of Phoenix Group, one of the largest long-term savings and retirement business in the UK. We’re proud to be building on 200 years of Standard Life heritage together.

Our products include a variety of Pensions, Bonds and Retirement options to suit people’s needs, helping our customers to invest and save for their future. We’re proud to offer a leading range of sustainable and responsible investment options.

We support our customers on their journey to and through retirement with comprehensive, easy-to-understand guidance so they can invest in the right way for their needs and plan a future they feel confident about.

The value of investments can go down as well as up and may be worth less than originally invested.