520,000 over-65s start own businesses

MORE than 500,000 “silver entrepreneurs” have set up their own businesses in retirement, a study has revealed.

One in 10 of the UK’s 4.8 million self-employed is now over 65 – with the number of pensioners working for themselves increasing by 20 per cent since 2013.

More than a million people have become self-employed since the 2008 financial crisis, the research from investment business Old Mutual Wealth and the Pensions Policy Institute also found.

The Baby Boomer generation – aged 50-69 – has seen the fastest growth and now accounts for 1.9 million of the nation’s self-employed.

Jon Greer, of Old Mutual Wealth, said: “Many people are now choosing to phase out their career and combine work and retirement, rather than dropping out of the workforce altogether and going straight into full-time retirement.”