Don't mention the R-word: More over-65s postpone retirement

Figures released by the Office for National Statistics this week showed 1,206,000 people aged over 65 were in employment between March and May this year, up from 1,130,000 in the same period in 2015 and 1,117,000 in 2014.

Despite this, over-65s made up only 1.9 per cent of the workforce, a marginal increase in representation from 1.8 per cent in 2014. 

As the graph below shows, the cohorts stay level throughout the period, changing, at most, by fractions of a percentage.

The extra workers appear to be coming from growing levels of employment. As the ONS release points out, the employment rate for those aged 16-64 "was 74.4 per cent, the highest since comparable records began in 1971".

This appears to be mirrored in the over-65s. Unemployment among the cohort dropped from 29,000 in March-May 2014 to 20,000 in the same period this year. Unemployment is classed as distinct from being 'inactive' – those who are not working and not seeking or able to work.

The employment rate among those over the age of 65 is 10.6 per cent. This has crept up slowly in recent years from 10 per cent. 

The gradual demographic shift towards an older workforce is leading to concerns among pension schemes. Many are reevaluating their governance processes in an effort to bolster themselves.

A spokesperson for the ONS said: “There are quite a few people between the age of 65 and 69 at the moment because of the babyboomer effect.”

In short, the challenges of an ageing workforce may not have arrived yet, but that doesn't mean they aren't going to.