Increase in women working into their 60s

The number of women aged between 60 and 64 in work has increased by 51% in the 10 years since the state pension age was increased, official data has shown. Figures from the Office for National Statistics showed the number of women in that age bracket in work had increased by 331,702 since 2010.

The pension age has been gradually increasing further since 2018, with those under the age of 40 seeing the largest jump in their pension age to 68 years old. Male and female pension ages have increased at the same rate since they came into line with each other in 2018.

The qualifying state pension age for both men and women will be increased to 66 by October this year and 67 by 2028. It is then set to increase to 68 between 2044 and 2046. The analysis also revealed that the number of women aged 60 to 64 in work has increased by 167% in the 20-year period since 1999.