According to official data, the number of people working past retirement age in the UK is growing faster than any other section in the labour market.

By March 2008, 1.3 million men and women past the age of 65 and 60, respectively, were in employment – a rise of 8.8 percent year on year. This rise was much sharper than any other age group. The second most marked rise is occurring in the over 50s to retirement age.

As retirement benefits shrink, growing numbers are entering, or refusing to leave, and workplaces are gradually changing their perception of the ideal worker. “Older people are the only growing group in the labour market,” said Stephen McNair, head of the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education, a think-tank on adult learning. “The positive message is that most people over the age of 50 would like to stay in the workforce longer than they thought they would be allowed.”

The data showed that among men aged 50 to 64 and women aged 50 to 59, there are 6.6 million workers, more than at prime working ages of 25 to 34. The year on year rate of increase in the numbers of older workers is 2.1 percent

The statistics demonstrates the fact that for some people, work is not the drudgery of the mill or the mine but rather a place to establish social networks and to participate in wider society.

“It’s both sides of the coin,” said Zina Ambrose, a spokeswoman for Age Concern. “There are those who can’t afford to stop working and there are those who want to keep on working because they feel they have a lot to offer.”

John Llewellen, senior economic policy advisor at Lehman Brothers, added that “the rising workforce participation among older workers also marked a shift in Britain’s economy from a heavy manufacturing base to one highly dependent on service provision. You’re not asking these guys to swing a pick-axe,” Mr Llewellen said. Decades ago, at least half the work force was in hard physical labour, he added.

Ros Altmann, a specialist in pension’s economics, said that “the shift highlights the fact that many people would like to retire more flexibly, perhaps continuing to work part time. These are bonus years for many people,” she said.

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