TY - JOUR T1 - Youth unemployment: A public health problem set to worsen if older people work longer JF - British Journal of General Practice JO - Br J Gen Pract SP - e506 LP - e507 DO - 10.3399/bjgp13X669248 VL - 63 IS - 612 AU - Edin Lakasing Y1 - 2013/07/01 UR - http://bjgp.org/content/63/612/e506.abstract N2 - In 2012 the coalition government decided to increase the retirement age and reform public sector pensions.1 The logic behind this is that increased life expectancy makes payouts under the old terms unsustainable for the public purse. I believe this move is misguided for several reasons. Life spans have indeed increased, but a longer old age does not automatically mean a healthier one. We, more than anyone, can testify to the burden of chronic illness in an ageing population, and the escalating consumption of healthcare resources during the last third of life.2 Vital functions such as eyesight, memory, and agility decline during middle age, well before evolving to hard diagnoses such as macular degeneration, dementia, or arthritis. While there are many older people who wish to work beyond usual retirement age, this should be voluntary. Surely the most potent argument against making it compulsory is that it will exacerbate one of the most under-rated scourges of our time: the ticking time bomb of youth unemployment.The soubriquet NEET describes young adults not in employment, education, or training. The NEET population in the UK was around 13% in 2004,3 and since that year, well … ER -