More than one million over-65s are working

THE number of over 65-year-olds working has increased to more than a million since the coalition came to power, according to research.

Saga said there had been a 36 per cent rise UK-wide since May 2010, to 1.09 million.

The number of working 50 to 64-year-olds has jumped from 7.2 million to just fewer than eight million in the same period, up nine per cent.

Paul Green, Saga’s director of communications, said: “Thanks in part to the abolition of the default retirement age, many more older people are able to continue in work for as long as they choose to, rather than at the whim of their employer. However, this masks the misery that longterm unemployment causes and more needs to be done to help.

“Recent changes were made by government which removed employers’ national insurance for employing younger workers.

“By extending this further to encourage employment of those in long-term unemployment, it could encourage more employers to take a chance on those who have been out of work for some time, but who are desperate to get back into work.

“We need to stop writing older workers off simply because they have found themselves out of work at an older age.”

Saga said 3.6 per cent of all employed people in the UK are 65 or older, up from 3.4 per cent a year ago.

Economist Dr Ros Altman, Business Champion for Older Workers, said unemployment among 50 to 64-year-olds had fallen more slowly than for younger workers.