In the UK, the number of over-70s still working in 2022 has increased by 61% compared to a decade ago, according to Rest Less, an online community offering advice to older workers.
Data released ahead of International Workers’ Day showed that more than 446,600 people over 70 in the country will still not have retired by 2022, compared with 277,926 in 2012.
“Today we are seeing many older workers struggling to make ends meet amid the cost of living crisis , with inadequate retirement savings meaning they are having to work to survive financially,” said Stuart Lewis, CEO of Rest Less.
The cost of living has risen sharply in the UK over the past two years. Annual inflation peaked at 11.1% in October 2022, a 41-year high, before easing in the following months. It was 10.1% in March 2023, the seventh consecutive month of double-digit inflation, according to official data.
The current state pension age for men and women in the UK is 66 but will gradually rise to 68 by 2046.
Norway and Iceland currently have the highest retirement age in the EU at 67. Greece, Italy, Luxembourg and Slovenia have the lowest retirement age in the bloc at 62.
