Certainly, there are people who can't wait to leave work, and people with grand plans for retirement. There are also people who have worked a long time in a stressful environment or doing heavy manual work, or who live in a poor community, and whose life expectancy is much shorter. But most people in their 50s say that they would like to work…

Everyone is living through a period of considerable demographic change, which is predicted to continue and escalate. People are living longer and, generally, healthier lives, and the lifelong learning system in the UK needs to catch-up with this new reality. There is a need for a much more flexible approach that offers choice and opportunities to…