Number of pensioners forced back to work 'doubles'.
Pensioners are being forced back to work by rising living costs and low interest rates.
Government figures showed yesterday that the number of pensioners living in households where one or more members was working had risen by 0.4pc in the last three months. The number of over 65s working has steadily increased over the past few years, the figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) show.
Separately, figures from recruitment marketplace Peopleperhour.com showed that the number of newly retired people seeking work through its website had more than doubled in the last year. Nearly half of those signing up to the site were in the South East of England or London, where the cost of living is highest.
Ros Altmann, Director General of Saga, said that it was “inevitable” that older people should have to work for longer. “Many people in their 60s and even in their 70s either want to work or need to work in order to be able to enjoy their later life,” she said. “With increasing numbers of people living into their 90s, anyone who can work in later life can benefit from doing so. People are living longer and healthier lives than ever before and therefore the option of working longer can be a positive choice.”
However, Xenios Thrasyvolou, chief executive of Peopleperhour, said that many people were being forced to work for longer simply to survive.
Stock market-linked pensions are down, food and energy prices are up and the cost of living generally is having a massive impact on the already meagre means of many pensioners in the UK today,” he said. “PeoplePerHour.com has seen a shocking rise in the number of retired people being forced to seek extra work to pay bills or simply to be able to afford to eat.
The cost of living for pensioners is rising faster than for the rest of the population, because retired people spend a greater proportion of their income on food and fuel – where prices are rising fastest.
Many have a fixed income which is being fast eroded by inflation. Figures from Prudential, released last week, showed that pensioner inflation could cut spending power by 60pc over a 20 year retirement.
