Bank of England chief Mark Carney warns many Brits may not be able to retire in the future

BRITS may not be able to retire in future because working lives are getting longer, it was claimed yesterday.

Governor of the Bank of England Mark Carney also warned rapid economic change could lead to unemployment and rising inequality.

Mr Carney said that automation and artificial intelligence in a Fourth Industrial Revolution would threaten one in ten jobs in the UK.

People would have to adapt fast, he said, to learn new skills to stay in work.

The bank boss also warned that employers would face a fall in the labour supply produced by an ageing population.

He said later life education and mid-career retraining would be needed.

Mr Carney said: “Unlike in the previous industrial revolutions, the more rapid pace of adjustment and longer working lives means workers may not have the option of retiring.”

Speaking in Dublin, Mr Carney said that revolutionising work practices would, long term, boost productivity and wages and create jobs to maintain or even increase overall employment.

He added that current rates of pay growth in the UK were below pre-financial crisis averages of a decade ago.

This, he said, reflected continued weakness in productivity growth, and uncertainty associated with Brexit.