Baby boomers in UAE delay retirement to maintain residency and meet rising costs

Many baby boomers (those born between 1946 and 1964) working in the UAE are delaying retirement due to rising living costs and the desire to maintain residency, according to recruitment experts.

Older expats need a few more earning years to feel comfortable about retirement back home. They also want to keep UAE residency, particularly if their family is settled here or they hold long-term or golden visas, says Aws Ismail, director of recruitment at outsourcing and training provider Marc Ellis.

The UAE is a great place to work and live, and people are not ready to give this up easily, so they tend to postpone their retirement plans to make the most of it, he says.

Since there is no automatic state pension for foreign workers and no strict mandatory retirement age for expats in the private sector, many simply choose to carry on working while they still can add value, he adds.

“For most boomers, it is less about money and more about purpose,” says Waleed Anwar, managing director of Dubai recruitment company Upfront HR. “Many still feel they have a lot to offer, and they want to stay active in a market they enjoy living in, but staying in the UAE means they must remain employed because residency and cost of living are high.”

Nicki Wilson, owner and managing director of Dubai consultancy Genie Recruitment, says living in the UAE can sometimes create a false sense of security. Many baby boomers have earned high salaries yet have minimal long-term savings, she says.

Dubai is an expensive place to raise a family and maintain a lifestyle, and many baby boomers need to keep working well into their sixties simply to sustain their commitments, she reckons.

Financial preparation

There needs to be more awareness around preparing for retirement early and working closely with a fiduciary financial adviser. Some people choose to keep working to maintain a certain lifestyle but for many, financial preparation simply did not happen in time, she says.

More than half (58.8 per cent) of baby boomers