Who chooses to work, and who is forced to, after retirement?

The state pension age in the UK is currently 66. Yet 9.5% of people aged 66 and older (1.12 million people) were still working, according to the most recent data from the UK’s Annual Population Survey (July 2023 to June 2024). This figure has been rising over the past decade, increasing from 8.70% (880,000 people) in July 2013 to June 2014.

We think of retirement as a time to pursue hobbies, relax and enjoy the fruits of our labour. So why then, are so many people still working beyond retirement age, and who are they? This is what we sought to find out in a recent study.

We investigated who is more likely to “choose to work” and who is “forced to work”, using data from the UK’s annual population survey.

Older workers are not a homogeneous population. They differ in terms of age, ethnicity, socioeconomic class, financial situation, health conditions and more. Likewise, the reasons for working beyond retirement age vary widely. Some may work because they want to, while others may have no option and feel they have to work in order to make ends meet.

The below chart shows the breakdown of these retirement-age workers by key demographic and socioeconomic characteristics from the most recent data.

Three in five retirement-age workers were men, and almost all (94.4%) older workers were white. Just over half (51.5%) of older workers continued to work despite having long-term illnesses.

Characteristics of workers aged 66 and older:

The majority (71.2%) of older workers were married, in a civil partnership or cohabiting. Nearly 40% of older workers were employed in higher managerial, administrative and professional occupations, followed by intermediate occupations such as sales or some service roles (32.1%), and routine manual occupations (25.6%).

More than 85% of retirement-age workers lived in the south (52.8%) and the north (33.1%) of England, and 70% are homeowners.

Who is ‘forced’ to work?

In our study, we calculated the likelihood of pension-age workers (66 years and older) with varying demographic and socioeconomic characteristics being forced to work.

The Annual Population Survey identifies six main reasons why older workers continue working beyond retirement age. These are:

A. To pay for desirable items (such as holidays),
B. Not ready to stop work,
C. Employer needs your experience or you are needed in the family business,
D. Due to opportunities to work more flexible hours,
E. To pay for essential items (such as bills), and
F. To boost pension pot.

In our study, we classed reasons (A) to (D) as “choose to work”, and (E) and (F) as “forced to work”. Our analysis, based on the most recent dataset (April 2022 to March 2023) at the time of the study, revealed that women are 25% more likely to be forced to work compared to men, and Asian workers are 120% more likely to be forced to work than white workers (with 34% and 17% more likely for older workers from black and other ethnic backgrounds, respectively).

Workers without long-term illness are 33% less likely to be forced to work than those with long-term illness, and non-married or single workers are 56% more likely to be forced to work compared to seniors who are married, in a civil partnership or cohabiting.

Workers in intermediate and routine manual occupations are 37% and 67% more likely to be forced to work, respectively, compared to those in higher managerial occupations. Older workers from the south of England are more likely to be be forced to work compared to seniors from any other parts of the UK, and retirement-age workers with mortgages or renting were 117% more likely to be forced to work compared to those who owned their properties.

Who is more likely to be ‘forced to work’?:

Ageing populations

This matters because of the changing nature of work, the rising cost of living and the UK’s ageing population. Retirement-age workers will be increasingly pressured to work longer due to the rising state pension age (due to increase to 67 in 2026-27).

Understanding who works by choice and who by necessity into retirement age is important, because these groups will need different kinds of support and resources.

For example, the higher likelihood of being forced to work among older female workers can be partly attributed to career breaks they took to serve as primary caregivers for their children, which often prevented them from accumulating sufficient pensions.

As the state pension age is expected to continue rising, it is crucial for policymakers and employers to design support systems for diverse demographic and socioeconomic groups of older workers, addressing their unique needs. This starts with understanding why people are working into old age.

The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.