Working into our SEVENTIES
More and more of us expect to be working longer
M
ORE and more adults are expecting to work well past the current state retirement age before they can retire, new figures from the Office for National Statistics have revealed.
The biannual Wealth and Assets Survey asked people either currently in work and those intending to work in the future at what age they expect to retire.
Some 15 per cent of people in England and 13 per cent of people in Wales say they do not expect to retire until at least the age of 70, dropping to 10 per cent for Scots.
The figure varies widely by region as well as country.
The data shows that 19 per cent of people in the South West of England do not expect to retire until they are at least 70 years old, compared to 10 per cent in the North East.
The current age of retirement is 65. At this age employees are eligible to leave work and receive the state pension. All workers whether selfemployed or employed by someone else - are eligible for the state pension, currently worth £125.96 a week, or just over £6,500 a year.
Employees are able to take early retirement, however.
It means that they can leave work and live off their savings and private pensions, but they will not receive their state pension until they turn 65.
Some seven per cent of people in England say they expect to retire aged younger than 60.
That drops to five per cent in Scotland, but is lowest in Wales (four per cent).
Regionally the figure is highest in the East Midlands, with 10 per cent of people expecting to retire before the age of 60, compared to just four per cent in the South West.
The latest ONS employment figures show that around 11 per cent of people aged 65 and older were still in work between May and July this year.
In the same period of 1992 - the earliest year available - just five per cent of people aged 65 and over at the time were still working.
Last July the government announced plans to raise the state pension age to 68 from 2038.
It means anyone born after 5 April 1970 will have to work until this age before they receive their state pension. At the time of the announcement, the then Work and Pensions secretary David Gauke, said: “As life expectancy continues to rise and the number of people in receipt of state pension increases, we need to ensure that we have a fair and sustainable system that is reflective of modern life and protected for future generations. “Combined with our pension reforms that are helping more people than ever save into a private pension and reducing pensioner poverty to a near record low, these changes will give people the certainty they need to plan ahead for retirement.”