Number of over-65s working doubles in 12 years

The amount of people aged over 65 in employment more than doubled between 2006 and July 2018, according to a recent report from the Office for National Statistics.

In January 2006, 607,000 over-65s were in employment, in comparison to 1.26 million in July 2018. In 2006 this represented 6.6% of the age group, while that percentage was 10.7 per cent as of July 2018.

The change in retirement age, increased life expectancy and the improved health of the older population has led to people working till they are older and claiming their pensions later than in previous generations.

Aegon head of pensions, Kate Smith said: “While the number of people in employment continues to increase, it is concerning to see that this is being driven by the older generation with the number of people aged over 65 years in employment more than doubling in the past 12 years.”

As people approach retirement age, some are realising their pension savings are insufficient and are therefore remaining in employment as they had not engaged with their pension scheme and contributed an adequate amount of money over the years.

Smith continued: “Individuals should look ahead and plan for their retirement years, considering whether or not they want to remain in work past state pension age and working out how much money they will need to live on in retirement. The alternative to this is that we may well see the number of those working past retirement age continuing to rise, not out of choice, but out of financial necessity.”

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