How on earth do people work into their 60's and beyond.

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DP and I were talking earlier (he's now asleep at 7.15pm) and saying how do people work into their 60's and 70's.

My DP is 59, he works in demolition which can be quite an active job. He's out of the house at 6am as they travel all over the country and he often isn't back until 6pm.

I'm a teacher recently dropped to 4 days after ongoing health issues after having breast cancer in 2021. Im 55, 56 in February.

We're both knackered. Neither of us sleep very well at all. We eat healthily and used to go to the gym 2/3 times a week but now only manage walking as our form of exercise.

I'm desperate to change jobs, planing to retire at 58 and get a part time job in an office. I think once I retire DP will reduce his hours and slowly retire.

But how do people have the energy to keep working. A teaching assistant at my school has just retired at 71 and I really don't know how she's kept going.

Without wanting to be rude if you don’t have any experience working in an office you are unlikely to get a part-time office job.
I worked in administration jobs from leaving school at 18 and studied for qualifications (accountancy and HR) in my own time.
By my mid 50’s I was exhausted from my 50 hour a week admin job so started applying for part time positions. I never got an interview for most of them because employers want young people who they assume will be more up to date with new technology etc.

I retire from my teaching job on the 31st August, I get my last pay tomorrow. And my lump sum and pension next week.

Spent the last three weeks training for my new job. WFH, online training and think it's going to be ideal. Plan on working 18 hours a week over 3 days. No holiday or sickness pay but that's fine. We have a month in Thailand booked and a cruise.

Im excited for the next phase of my life.

Good luck to you! I'm 64 and have two and a half years left to go in local government. The changes brought by COVID were a blessing for me as I now have one day a week WFH to catch up on admin. I'm counting down the days until I leave work and can't wait!

Good luck Op! Sorry, did you ever say what kind of job you ended up getting? Tutoring? (asking for a friend)

Aiming for 64 here ( am 61) if I can save enough between now and then to live on.

@Tomorrowisyesterday I'm working for a company called TTC, who deliver speed awareness courses, either online or in the classroom. Two courses a day (6 hours) is roughly the same as a days supply.

Thank you - and a lot less stressful than a day of supply, I would hazard a guess!!

Yes. I do have to pay my own tax and NI but I don't have to use any fuel and no stress driving to an unknown school over the other side of the city and teaching 30 children I don't know.

So, it sort of balances out. I also live in quite a rural area so snow is often an issue - definitely looking forward to not having to drive anywhere in snow.

Depends on job and health. I'm 54 and the thought of working until 67 doesn't fill me with joy but because of my pensions I will have to as won't have sufficient income to retire earlier.
I desk based/WFH but I think my concentration and motivation has dropped going through the menopause.
I would like a long healthy active retirement but the later you retire the less chance you have of that, my parents health dropped significantly from 70ish. They retired at state pension age of 60 and 65.
We maybe living longer but are we more active and healthy for longer?
If you've worked full time as a teacher for many years then your pension is one of the best you can have. Mil moans about hers as she worked part time and feels hard done by compared to full time colleagues but still has over 2k a month teachers pension. She retired 20 years ago at 63.

Well my teachers pension isn't anywhere near £2k unfortunately as I've taken it 3.5 years early, hence I need a bit of extra to top it up.

Gosh that sounds hard. Could he bit change jobs? I am still working an average of 3 days a week at 68. I do an admin job on a hospital ward so very busy. I do enjoy it but find I get a lot more tired these days .

Good luck with your new job OP

If you can afford it op, look at putting more into your pension, perhaps an AVC.

I know this thread is a few months old, but would you mind expanding on your role? I'm interested to know how you manage a senior role alongside self care. I'm mid 40s and also in a senior role but really struggle to exercise and eat well, alongside work, children, house, elderly parents etc. thank you

Im a c suite level - don’t want to say any more due to privacy concerns.

As I have said in my post, I outsource some of the chores - cleaner and gardener. DP and I go 50:50 with the other chores. I have a hard finish once a week to go to the gym and walk the dog every day, either first thing or lunchtime. I make time one weekend morning to go to the gym as well. DC have left home - some of our parents have died so just one elderly parent to keep eye on.
I enjoy healthy eating - so eat a lot of salads and stir fry’s which do not require much work to put together.

Financially I don’t have much choice if I want to have a comfortable retirement. I am lucky that I love what I do so I prioritise looking after my wellbeing as much as I can - not always easy though.

I am.in a similar situation. Ive managed to turn it around by switching between a standing and sitting desk every 45 mins. Doing stretches throughout the day. Basic yoga and ones I know i need.

Exercise (a walk every morning and swimming, football, or tennis after work).

I have a couple of auto immune conditions and arthritis so am in pain all the time, but pushing through it really helps.

I think the biggest problem with my full time desk job is the lack of activity. Being sedentary makes my health issues much worse.

Can't put anymore into my teachers pension as I'm now retired. I have got a SIPP I'm regularly contributing to however and my plan is to add to that until I'm 61-62, then begin to draw from that to bridge the gap until I can claim my state pension at 67.

If you have a job you love in uour 60s crack on, you ate lucky.

For others, they have to continue due to financial constraints or they atevone of the many who struggle to find work due to ageism.

Delaying state pension age is counter productive as many will turn to UC.