These include support of children and young adults in education, paying off debts and saving for retirement. Paid employment is important in maintaining independence and fostering self-sufficiency both for the present and the future. Mature age people do not have a strong interest in employment and are mainly interested in their retirement. People in the focus groups expressed their wish to use their skills and knowledge constructively. They also spoke of their disdain for the traditional concept of retirement and saw themselves as continuing to make an ongoing contribution in some form.
Unemployment is less important for a mature age person than for a young person.
In addition, the average duration of unemployment is about twice as long as for a younger person. So arguably the effects of unemployment are twice as bad. Mature age people can make do with voluntary work as their contribution. However, they emphasised that it did not substitute for paid employment over the long term, and that paid employment was essential to their long term financial security. It is especially risky for mature age people given that they will not have the time to make good any potential losses in the future.