Two women who will never quit work

Jenny Mollison, 71, from Musselburgh, works part time for the Open University and the Scottish Qualifications Authority as an exam invigilator, as well as taking on voluntary advocacy work for the Scottish Allotments and Gardens Association and writing about gardening.

She said: “I worked in human resources before I had chil- dren. Then when the children were young, I could hardly look past the next day. Once they were older, I started doing bits and pieces and have gradually built it up. I don’t actually see myself stopping, or being interested in stopping, the things that I’m doing.”

Margaret Pringle, 61, from Edinburgh, became a classroom assistant after getting involved in academic life when her children were at school. She gradually moved from part-time to full-time and is now beginning to scale back her hours as retirement age approaches.

She said: “A lot of my friends are retired and I didn’t expect to be working after 60, but the thought of going from working full-time to not working at all was worrying – I didn’t know what I would do all day, every day.

“Although it would be lovely to have more time to spend visiting friends, going on holiday and taking up new pursuits, I didn’t want to lose that everyday routine or connection with my colleagues.”