Around 1.48 million over 65s have rejoined employment between February to April 2023, surpassing the previous peak of 1.47 million from April to June 2022, according to the latest labour market figures.
The employment rate has also hit an all-time high of 12 per cent. In the past three months alone, 116,000 workers have returned to employment, suggesting people may be in need of extra income as their pension alone probably is not enough to live on.
Just Group group communications director at retirement specialist Stephen Lowe says: “We are starting to see the longer-term trend of more people working later, as the State Pension age goes up combined with the shorter-term ‘Great Unretirement’ and, together, they are pushing record numbers of ‘Silver Workers’ into jobs.
“Both the number of workers aged over 65 and the employment rate in this age group were steadily increasing before the outbreak of Covid. We saw this trend plateau through the pandemic as many older workers took the opportunity to retire early – often on the back of being able to limit their expenditure in lockdown and increased house prices.
“Today’s numbers show things are now moving in a different direction. Older workers are returning to the workforce in greater numbers with the cost of living crisis likely to be a significant factor in driving this as, in the face of rising prices, people return to work to top up their income and pension.”
