How many people actually work until 67 or 68?

[EstoyRobandoSuCasa]

Neither of my parents could have worked until the (current) state retirement age due to different health issues. Luckily, they were able to retire in their early 60s. And now a family friend has just retired aged 64. His state retirement age is 67, but due to worsening arthritis and the feeling that he's slowing down physically and mentally, he's sure that he couldn't manage another three years.

I accept that this country is experiencing a democratic time bomb due to the ageing population, but just because the Treasury needs people to work longer, it doesn't mean that they'll be able to. I know there are people in their 70s and older who are still fit for work and that some of them enjoy working, but I think they're in the minority.

I will have to. I am 56, worked part time whilst exh's career took off and I raised the kids, so won't have a full pension until 67. Both my parents were retired by 60.

I’m 65 in March. Still working because I enjoy my job and don’t know what I’d do with myself if I stopped work.

I know plenty of people working in their 70s. Mainly office based roles, not manual type of work.

my mums friend is still doing specialist teaching 121 sessions with teenagers excluded from school and she’s 80 this year!

What happened to enjoying some retirement years. I was lucky enough to retire at 61 after over 40years in healthcare.
this allowed my daughter-in-laws to go back to work and me to enjoy my 4 grandchildren’s pre school years. So still contributing and enjoying retirement. Although I appreciate good health to allow this.

Does depend your field of work and health

I need to be doing lots of gentle exercise, rather than lifting toddlers, and sitting on tiny chairs. My joints are shot (already have two joint replacements). I’ll be here until 67, and it breaks my heart. A close friend died suddenly last week; she’d been retired two years, and was having the time of her life. Two years, after 40 years of work, isn’t enough.

My time off is so precious now. I make sure I do the things that bring me joy; I swim, hike and love my dogs. The thought of retirement, then death is depressing in the extreme.

Im 81 and still self employed doing private tutoring.

DH retired from the role he loved as a design engineer aged 75 when he discovered he could no longer contribute to a pension.

as for me, I plan to stay as long as they will have me, but accept that as an international corporate, there will come a time when getting rid of me balances their books. Until then, it’s all good.

Well somehow both my aunt and uncle worked full-time until 70. He had to officially retire at 65 and but went back to work at the same firm as a full-time contractor until 70, my aunt just kept working. They where both fit and well and able to do so. My aunt also work as a volunteer until covid.

I do think if you are able to it's better to keep active regardless of what it is you do. Most elderly relatives I've seen just stop at retirement, seem to have gone down hill rather quickly health wise.

I might - full social security kicks in at 67 in the US and you get more money the longer you hold off taking your social security money. I like my job a lot, I'm still v. good at it and it's intellectually but not physically demanding.

I didn't, neither did DH. DH retired at 61 and I at 62. I just sort of lost my mojo and didn't want to carry on any more. I was lucky to have some savings to carry me over the 4 years before the state pension kicked in.

However, some of my older former colleagues are still working in the same roles they had when I was working. They're now in their early 70s and seem to be showing no sign of stopping. They obviously still love the job (or maybe have decided that they can't yet afford to retire).

65, still working 30hpw and will continue for a bit. However, I like work and sit at a desk.

Full time for me was 45-50hpw and I was exhausted at the weekends once I turned 63ish.

I'm fortunate to have reasonable health.

Paradoxically Inthink it's easier to carry on if you don't need the money, simply because it's a choice.

Most probably retire a bit early. I'm in my 50s and know a couple of couples who have already retired in the early 50s and another couple aged 57.
I think a lot of ppl become too mentally drained to work by 60ish.
Mum retired at state pension age, 65 at the time and that seemed v unusual compared to friends mums.

This is really only a recent idea though. People used to have to work until they died, then they brought in the pension so those who where old could be supported as they could no longer work. My parents generation where the first to be able to enjoy a longer retirement due to increasing life expectancy, with the odd exception in my grandparents age group. Unless you privately fund yourself this will not be the case for most of us going forward as the economy can not afford it. Especially with dropping birth rates.

I do know people who are still working in their 70s and even, to a degree, in their 80s. However let’s be clear that these are very low impact jobs in physical terms. My father in law worked a physical job all his life and his body was absolutely broken by age 65. I don’t think he could have carried on even one more day. He only stayed working that long because he couldn’t afford not to and was in a lot of pain the last years of it. My husband is a plasterer. There is no way he will be physically able to push tonnes of gear up a wall still in his 60s. A bad back is pretty much a prerequisite of the job - apparently you’re not a real plasterer if your back doesn’t hurt. He’s in his 40s now but his back is that of someone decades older.

The idea of increasing the retirement age with no qualifying circumstances could only ever have come from someone who’s spent their working life in a suit and at a desk. No-one who has done a physically demanding job could ever think it’s a good or even feasible idea to still be sending 67 year olds up ladders carrying heavy buckets of gear. Fucking ridiculous.

My father carried on (albeit part time) until he was 70. Mentally he could have done it for longer, but he didn’t want to do the annual health checks any more.

I'm working now, creating tomorrow's lesson resources. I say goodnight to my DC and open my laptop, and basically work until I fall asleep over the screen, always past midnight. I will have to work until I'm 67, but I am doubting my current role as a primary school teacher is sustainable. There are fewer and fewer women in their 50s and 60s on the 'coal face' of education as classroom practitioners, and that's a real pity. I always advise people who are looking for a primary school to see how many women teachers over 40 there are working at a prospective school, as this number will be a great indicator of a school's ethos pertaining to staff retention, staff wellbeing, family friendly leadership -all things which contribute to staff morale, good will, dedication and positivity in a team.

I agree with all of this.

The other thing that’s always trotted out is that people can retrain. Even assuming that’s possible (and it isn’t for everyone), where are all the jobs for the over-60s with limited experience in the new field?

You are missing the point. You can retire whenever you like. 50, 60, 70. But you will increasingly have to make provision for supporting yourself until the government provides the State Pension. Which will either be given later or be of lower value.

But the point is not everyone can work until state pension age. Particularly if they have a more physically demanding occupation. And not everyone works in the kind of job where they are able to save hundreds of thousands of pounds to support themselves.

I think any future change to pension age really needs to consider this demographic a bit more.

My mum is the same age doing something very similar.

I will , and possibly beyond

Im 62 this year and I started work at 15 thinking Id be retired @ 60 or even @55 if I took my private pension

But life never works out as planned

I had to take PP at 59 and I managed to find the perfect wee job that will get me through to pay my final needed years stamp

DH is a manual worker , a builder, and now his hands have packed up - dupuytrens contracture's, waited 2 years to see a consultant to get on a wait list, was told 3 years, since then its been revised to 5.5 years wait - in the meantime more and more of his fingers are becoming useless . He is now on the sick aged 63 - would be better if he got his pension - no stigma

My grandfather was a pharmacist and worked until he was 88.

Neither of my parents made it as far as retirement.

One of my current team is 70, so some people do still work.

Wonderful friend was disabled in an accident at 52 ..is clinging to FT work but has multiple medical issues now… I doubt she’ll get to 67 working…oh I wonder why disability benefit budgets are increasing 🤔🤦‍♀️