According to the latest figures by the National Office of Statistics, unemployment from August to October 2009 reached around 1.6 million people. In an interesting twist, across the country there is only one segment where employment is actually growing – among people over pensionable age. The ONS have registered that there are 1.4 million individuals of pensionable age who are actually still in employment. Perhaps, what is more startling is the growth in the number of individuals in this predicament, which has almost doubled from 75,000 in one year.

One of the main reasons cited for the increase in ‘post-pension’ employment is the poor economic situation coupled by low interest rates, which means savers aren’t getting the same levels of income they are used to. More women than men seen to have been caught up in this situation with over two-thirds of post-pension workers being women. However, it is worth considering the fact that women’s retirement age is currently 60 compared to 65 for men.

It is likely that this trend will continue for the foreseeable future in light of both the economy as well as changing demographics in the UK population. According to the ONS, over the next 10 years the UK population is estimated to increase by more than 4 million. The majority of the increase is due to Britain’s ageing population. This over time will inevitably lead to an imbalance between those working and those in retirement. In anticipation of this situation the government is already proposing increasing the pensionable age, which means only one thing- people will have to stay in employment longer.