The contributors to this publication represent a cross-section of the leading researchers, thinkers and writers about the implications of changing demographics on the world of work. Collectively they have had a substantial influence on public policy and on the actions of employers, employees and public agencies. It is welcome to see their expertise brought together in this book.

The subtitle of this book is ‘New perspectives’ on the future of older workers. This is appropriate because its appearance coincides with a turning point. Legislation against age-based employment and training practices came into force in 2006. For a decade it had been a topic of discussion. Now it is a reality.

Also, the improved employment rate of older workers is well established. After a 30-year decline in the employment of older people, notably men, up to the mid 1990s, the over-50s employment rate has grown strongly over the past decade. Now the growth is extended to those over state pension age.

It might be concluded that we have all woken up to the reality of longer lives, less good pensions and the need to extend working life in the face of a reduced flow of young people into the workforce. Nothing further need be done.

This is the new complacency which threatens us. It explains why new perspectives and new drivers of government, individual and employer action are needed. Three facts illustrate why we cannot sit back:

• 1. The duration of time spent on welfare benefits among the over-50s has got longer, reflecting the difficulty of getting back into work, while for the under-50s it has got shorter.

• 2. There are as many people aged between 50 and state pension age who are not active in the economy as there were in 1997, despite the improved employment rate.

• 3. The number of adults aged over 50 in government-funded learning activity has almost halved in the last two years in order to fund learning by young people, even though government says that adult learners have never been more important.

The authors rightly emphasise that there is no such thing as a standard older worker or older person. There is a world of difference between those with occupational pensions, qualifications and their own resources and those with none of those things.