Pension fears stop women retiring early

Women are turning down early retirement, fearing that their pensions will not support them, figures suggest.

Data from the Office for National Statistics showed that the number of women aged between 16 and 64 who described themselves as retired fell from a peak of 1.1million at the end of 2008 to 677,000 at the end of last year. Experts said state pension-age changes meant more women were likely to stay in work for longer, because they are worried about running out of money.

Alistair Mcqueen, head of savings and retirement at Aviva, said: “Working longer is a powerful way of making up for a shortfall in pension income.”