The increase in pension age in the UK makes it possible for people over the age of 65 to work

The recent increase in UK government pension years has put 65-year-olds working more hard, and has made people living in poorer neighborhoods work longer hours.

A study by the Institute for Fiscal Studies, published Tuesday, found that about 55,000 other 65-year-olds were paid in 2021 for a gradual rise in pension age, from 65 to 66, between the end of 2018 to the end of 2020.

The change resulted in 7 percent of men and 9 percent of women retiring, taking on men employed at the age of 65 to 42 percent – the highest since the 1970s. Women’s interest rates rose to 31 percent.

Emily Andrews, deputy director for evidence at the Center for Aging Better, a charitable organization that funded the study, said it shows that the advanced years of pension were “a good policy to prolong working life among employees”.

However, the study also had a number of warning points for policy makers as they plan to retire to 67 years from 2026 and as an independent review begins to focus on economic growth to address the financial problems of the elderly.

For one thing, people in poorer neighborhoods were more likely to continue working while waiting to receive state pensions. After the change, the number of jobs in the poorest winter areas increased by 13 percent for women and 10 percent for men – compared with an increase of only 4 and 5 percent in the heaviest winter regions.

Tenants were more likely to stay in work than landlords, and those who did not have qualifications were more likely to do so than those with a university degree, research showed, showing the economic need to drive their decisions.

Many of those who have delayed retirement are able to make good money because of this, even if they would like to retire earlier and have time off, IFS said. This was because he was a full-time worker, earning more than he had lost his pension.

Jonathan Cribb, IFS’s assistant director, said this shows that there is “an unfulfilled desire for more people approaching the retirement age to work part-time, or flexibly, than they do now”.

More than 90 percent of those affected by the pension increase did not change their retirement plan, IFS said. Many still retire before reaching the age of 65, either because of illness or inadequacy, while very few choose to work longer hours.

But a small group – including 5,000 unemployed and 25,000 who were unable to work for health reasons – were severely affected, IFS said, because they deserved less help through more lucrative ways than they would otherwise have been. of state pensions.

Andrews said this shows the need for the government to “focus more on the assistance needed to help unemployed people in their 60s to get back to paid work”, so another increase in pensions has not affected those who are already in need. age-old labor market “.