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 have seen friends take early retirement at around sixty and then become seriously ill. Three of them in the last year. All their lovely plans for travel and hobbies gone up in smoke.

I will have paid off my mortgage when I am 63, and will review my situation then. If I feel like I can carry on another two years I will do that. I don’t think I will last until 67 though. I’m disabled and struggling with pain on a daily basis.

Replying to my own post - my neighbour is 76, not 67!

Presumably a lot of nurses switch specialisms though?
My aunt is a nurse and switched to clinic based 9 to 5 type working by her 50s

DD's piano teacher is in her late 80s.

I work with academics. Some of them are still working into their 90s.

Most of the people I’ve known who carry on are professionals. Vast majority have retired a bit early though. I think manual workers are more likely to retire early on grounds of health. Your average male manual worker dies about 10 years earlier than your office based professional.

I will be, and not because I have to either. I could retire tomorrow, but cant imagine anything worse.

Both my parents worked until they were well over 70, again, didn't have to, wanted to. My grandmother did all my uncles bookkeeping until a week before she died aged 80.

I could do that in my job as it’s a desk job and mostly at home … commute once a week. I’m 57.

DH is the same age but has a very physical job and his knees and back are very painful already.

Yes, my dad worked into his 70s’ (for the company and to top up a state pensions and savings). My DS’s A Level Economics teacher is in his 70’s and does it because he loves it.

Lots of people still work in their 70s, maybe not full time, and for a whole host of reasons.

There is no official retirement age in the UK anymore. I am 61 and will work as long as I can. I really enjoy working and do four days a week which is a good balance.
With people living longer and life being expensive I think 70 is a reasonable age for me to consider stopping work or cutting down a bit. I like earning money. It funds my everyday life and pays for my pet's upkeep and my various crafting hobbies, my hair highlights (not cheap!) and our caravan (also not cheap!).
These are all choices and they have to be paid for. I could cut back and live on less but I don't want to do that.

Those jobs are rarely available.

Our local NHS services all have massive recruitment freezes, and all the nurses who switched to things like the ICB and NHS England roles are facing redundancy.

A friend worked until age 88. Family business, chose hours to suit. However, such people are in the tiny tiny minority. Neither of my parents could have worked til 67/8. My dad retired (ill health, massive operation) at 58 and my mum retired at a similar time although they are divorced. She was knackered but then got diagnosed with cancer in her 60s. A cancer diagnosis followed for my dad as well. There is no way either of them could have worked until 67/8. If they had been absolutely forced by law, they would have just had to take sick leave for a vast amount of time - employer would have had major disruption constantly.

This is eminently sensible and people need to give more thought to planning adjustments in work and how they are going to continue to work to SPA, rather than expecting just to ‘go on the sick’ as a previous poster blithely put it.

Lots of people still work in their 70s, maybe not full time, and for a whole host of reasons

Its 1 in 12 apparently but I wouldn’t say that’s lots.

A big problem is that self employed traders often don’t have adequate private pensions

In my family only my grandfather managed to work till 65. Aunts and uncles have all gone on long term sick in their late 50’s and early 60’s. I’m mid 50’s and gave health issues and have recently had to go very part time. Dh won’t last till he’s 67. I’ve often wondered how many people claiming disability benefits or attendance allowance are like us, just people physically worn out before pension age.

I’ll retire at 60 completely because I have a good pension. Dh has paid well into his and will reduce hours when he hits 60.

I know 2 out of 10 working beyond retirement. I know 5 out of 10 volunteering after retirement.
Some stopped working after redundancy, some health issues, some never liked the job and relieved to be able to stop.

I ws talking about this yesterday. I work a District nurse, I think it would be a struggle to do this role at 67 to be honest. Some days my back hurts, my knees hurt, I'm in my 40s and have been a nurse for 20 years. I've always followed manual handling but it still takes it toll on your body. I'm not going to be doing this at that age. I ideally I want to retire by 60.

In my family I don’t have anyone who has retired. Neither of my parents lived to 60. Of my parents generation in my family we lost five of them in their 40s and early 50s. Of those that have lived past 67 none of them retired, all continuing to work until death or until swift serious illness/deterioration. One of them died at work.

I have no expectation of retirement in the traditional sense but instead I would like a long part time working life to follow my long full time working life.

DH and I both work in public sector so will be retiring from our current jobs before 60 as we are lucky to have good pensions.

DH plans to take a part-time job in something like patient transport and I am keen to volunteer. I think it's important if you retire early to have a plan to keep your brain active.

I am very disillusioned in my current job and have reached as far as I want to go so can't imagine still doing it in 12 years time. DH is emergency services and average life expectancy for his job is poor so we want to spend some time not tied by high pressure jobs.

when my state pension age went up from 60 to 67 I was initially shocked and knew I couldn’t continue in a job I had sadly grown to hate with masses of stress and expectations of working way way over your official hours (not fair on primary age kids when DH was working away all week and no family support). But then I saw it was an opportunity to take time off with the DC and work till I was older instead when they would need me less.

Luckily I got voluntary redundancy, spent more time with kids while working self-employed and retraining (part time masters).

These extra seven years are giving me a chance to build up my pension and I’m 62 love my new career (done it 10 years now) and am trying for promotion. Made the emptying of the nest a few months ago much easier to cope with as I’m busy. I am part time though and not complacent about health as DF had first stroke at 63.

I’m 68 and still working part time. I doubt that I will stop altogether for some time yet, partly because I want a bit of extra money on top of my pension but also because I want to keep my brain active.

I work in healthcare. Team of 25 and we have 1 70+ and 4 60+ but only 1 (63yo) is full time. She says she needs to be full time until 67 to pay her mortgage. Lots of older long term NHS staff reduce hours at 60ish and take some pension as they are in the 1995 or even earlier schemes. Younger people and those who joined late won’t have so many options. I didn’t start my nhs pension until 40 (career change) but I’m hoping that my mortgage being paid hopefully by the time I’m 60 will allow me to drop hours. I’ve got a tiny private pension which I may take earlier. I like my job, which is something, but I would like it more if I was doing fewer hours. I don’t have provision for needing to significantly drop hours or stop working altogether before 67. I don’t have a huge hankering to stop working and “enjoy myself” either bar a couple of extra mini breaks a year - I enjoy working, but if my dc have children I would like to support them as it’s so difficult financially and logistically to have small dc.

While I absolutely agree with the spirit of what you are saying, indeed many people with my condition just stop working post diagnosis, the reality is there are many people like me who already have made every adaptation possible in order to continue working despite disability. There's nowhere else for me to go in terms of adaptations to be able to continue working. I work from home, I work flexibly, I work for a very supportive employer, and in an entirely desk based role. I have given up most of life outside of work in order to have just enough health to be able to work. This is doable for now but the reality is each exposure to other illnesses will make me weaker and inevitably it's unlikely I will reach 70 still working
. Also it's worth remembering that many people in physically focused jobs do so because of things like profound dyslexia that would make desk based work very tricky for them. I know people who are prodigiously hard working in their physical jobs but get very stressed by any type of paperwork.

DH had a serious health condition that meant he gave up his self employment at 50, which obviously affected our income. Eventually he was well enough to find part time work, which he did til he was 68. I was redundant from f/t work at 60, but had all sorts of p/t work til my mid 60s.

By 60 we had consolidated our finances, bought a cheaper house in order to clear the mortgage, in an area where we didn’t need two cars, so we got rid of one. Our DC were independent, and whilst I could have opted not to work, the extra earnings gave us money for holidays etc. P/t gave me time for the DGC and some volunteering, which I still do. Going from a full time job to part time was a good way to transition for me.

We don’t have great pensions, but we need so much less now at nearly 80. Keeping the house warm, nice food and my gym membership are our priorities! Fortunately our DC are in careers with reasonably good pensions, so they could opt for retirement before 60.

Middle class office workers will be ok.