The number of men and women working beyond their 65th birthday has more than quadrupled in the last 20 years, government figures showed last night.
In a sign that an increasing number of people are putting off retirement, there are now a record 1.2million over 65s in work in the UK, up from 272,000 in 1997.
The report, from the Department for Work and Pensions, also showed a dramatic increase in the number of over 50s in work, from 6million two decades ago to more than 9.9million now, also an all-time high.
The figures sparked fresh fears that many pensioners are being forced to work for longer because they cannot afford to retire.
Record low interest rates, the demise of final salary pension schemes, and creeping rises in the state pension age are all thought to have forced many workers to delay retirement.
Experts warned that working beyond the age of 70 would soon be the norm.
The figures sparked fresh fears that many pensioners are being forced to work for longer because they cannot afford to retire (stock photo)
Former pensions minister Ros Altmann said that while increasing numbers of people are fit enough to work well into their 60s, many who are not have been left facing a life of poverty in retirement.
‘There are people who do not want to carry on working, are not able to carry on working or are not well enough to carry on working,’ she said.
‘Work is being taken as an alternative to retirement by people who need money to live on.
‘If people want to carry on working and can then that is great, but there are people who can’t and it is a very serious problem.
‘I am particularly concerned about women who find they cannot keep working because they are discriminated against in the labour market, or are caring for older relatives, or are too unwell to work.’
The DWP report showed the employment rate of people aged 65 and over has doubled from 5 per cent to 10 per cent in 20 years.
The average retirement age for men has risen by two years since 1997 to just over 65 while for women it has risen by three years to around 63-and-a-half.
But while this marks an increase in the retirement age over the last two decades, men on average did not leave the labour market until 67 in 1950, the report showed, while women typically left at 63 as they do now.
But industry experts warned that younger workers today may not be able to retire until they are in their 70s.
Ministers this summer said the state pension age would rise to 68 between 2037 and 2039 – rather than from 2044 as originally proposed.
Tom Selby, senior analyst at savings and investments firm AJ Bell, said: ‘Anyone who thinks retiring at 65 is a scary thought is in for a nasty shock.
‘The rise in average retirement ages is only going to accelerate in the decades to come as the state pension age increases further and the number of people retiring with generous defined benefit entitlements falls away.
‘We will also see more people working longer, either full-time or part-time, in order to supplement their retirement income.
Former pensions minister Ros Altmann, pictured, said that while increasing numbers of people are fit enough to work well into their 60s, many who are not have been left facing a life of poverty in retirement
‘For some this won’t be a problem, but for those in more strenuous or physically demanding roles the thought of retiring later will be difficult to stomach.
‘But the stark reality is that, if life expectancy keeps going up, many will be staring a retirement age of 70 or older square in the face.’
Steven Cameron, pensions director at Aegon UK, said: ‘Whether out of necessity or choice, more and more people are working past the traditional state pension age, but as the responsibility for retirement saving moves increasingly toward the individual, there are signs that financial security could be a driving force for people spending longer in work.
‘One in seven people approach retirement without a private or workplace pension, and there is a real concern that most people in the UK have simply not saved enough to retire at the age they would like.’
Nathan Long, senior pension analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said retirement was ‘hugely personal’ but added: ‘This increasing flexibility afforded to older workers alongside the abolition of a default retirement age is certainly a factor in the increasing age of retirement.’
Employment Minister Damian Hinds said: ‘Staying in work for longer is not only better for our physical and mental wellbeing, but also means more money in people’s pockets.
‘As our workforce ages, these latest figures are a further demonstration of how people are also positively changing their attitudes to employment in later life.’
British Airways last night became the latest company to close its lucrative final salary pension scheme.
The move will hit 17,000 workers who currently save for their retirement in the airline’s New Airways Pension Scheme.
Instead it will move members in to its less generous defined contribution scheme.