Monday 27 May 2019 12:08 pm | Updated: Tuesday 18 June 2019 2:21 am

Grannies head back to work as the number of over-70s in employment soar

The number of over-70s working during what would otherwise be their retirement has more than doubled in the last ten years as pensioners try to supplement their incomes, new figures show.

Around one in 12 of Brits over 70 are choosing full or part-time employment over full retirement, analysis from over-50s jobs and volunteering site Rest Less shows.

Using data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the organisation found that nearly 498,000 people over 70 are working today, up from 212,000, or one in 22, a decade ago.

“With far fewer ‘gold-plated’ pensions around and ever increasing life expectancy, many are actively looking to top up their pension savings while they still can,” said Rest Less founder Stuart Lewis.

He also pointed towards the health benefits of staying active in old age as a driving force behind the growth.

The trend is particularly affecting men, with those over 70 in full-time employment having trebled to over 113,000 since 2009, the figures showed. However the number of women working full time in their 70s grew even faster from 9,500 to 32,000 over the same period.

Women are generally becoming more likely to work past their 70th birthday, up 131 per cent to 175,000, but are still lagging behind men.

“With generational lows in the unemployment rate, the over 50s offer a talented, and up to now largely untapped opportunity to many employers who are struggling to fill a skills and employment gap,” Lewis said.

However, experts also warned that while many are working past the state pension age of 65, others are being forced out too early.

“Health inequalities continue to disadvantage some people, all too often resulting in unwanted early labour market exits,” said Lily Parsey from the International Longevity Centre.