Over-50s are ‘unretiring’ in face of rising living costs

HOPES of an early retirement are being dashed for many as a new report has found that over-50s are increasingly returning to the workforce amid the cost of living crisis.

Economic activity levels among the over-50s are at their highest since the pandemic began, a study has found.

Rest Less, which offers advice to older people, said its analysis of official statistics appears to show the first signs of a return to the long-term trend of more economically active people over the age of 50 – a decades-long trend which it said was reversed during the pandemic.

Its analysis shows that there was an increase in economic activity (those in work or looking for work) of 116,000 among people aged over 50 in the past year.

More than half of the increase was driven by men over the age of 65, according to the report.

Older workers have been leaving the jobs market in their droves over the past two years after taking a pause to assess their circumstances during coronavirus, said Stuart Lewis, chief executive of Rest Less.

But as a result of the economic turmoil inflicted by the pandemic, many now feel they have no other choice but to return to the workforce, he added.

Mr Lewis said: “In some ways the pandemic forced the hand of many and gave them an opportunity to try out retirement.

“An early retirement can often seem like a dream when you’re stuck in the thick of the daily grind, but, for many, giving up work abruptly can also result

‘In some ways the pandemic forced the hand of many and gave them an opportunity to try out retirement’

in a loss of structure, social connections and purpose which can leave people feeling lost at times.

“We often forget just how much of our social network and contacts come from the work environment.”

Mr Lewis concluded: “With spiralling inflation and volatile markets impacting people’s pension funds, some people who thought they could retire during the pandemic have now had to “unretire” to top up their pensions while they still can and to generate some additional income.”