Britons aged 65 and over are returning to the workforce and setting up their own businesses to boost their retirement incomes, a study has found.
Government statistics on employment after 65 shows a 20 per cent increase in the number of full-time and part-time self-employed workers aged 65-plus over just three months.
This takes the population of older people in the workforce from nearly 435,000 to more than 523,000.
The data also shows the number of over-65s working as employees or self-employed is at a record high of 1.47mn, with the self-employed accounting for around 35 per cent of the total number of those working at 65 and over.
The number of over-65s in the workplace previously peaked in the first quarter of 2020 at just over 1.4mn.
Self-employed over-65s account for around 12 per cent of the total 4.24mn self-employed Brits, and pension provider iSipp believes the rise in over-65s working for themselves is partly driven by the need to boost retirement income.
According to Hrishi Kulkarni, managing director for iSipp, working past 65 can make a major difference to retirement income as it enables investors to increase their future retirement income while also potentially leaving their fund invested for longer.
Kulkarni said: “They may also have built up retirement savings from previous employment and can benefit from consolidating their funds into one potentially improving returns and reducing fees while they plan for stopping work.”
simoney.kyriakou@ft.com
