Inflation pushes U.K. seniors to delay retirement

A growing number of older people in the U.K. are calling off their retirement due to the burden of the soaring cost of living driven by high inflation and interest rates.

According to The Guardian newspaper on Monday, quoting the data from the Office for National Statistics released on July 19, the number of economically active population aged 65 and over increased by 103,000 year-on-year. The economically active population refers to the group of people in work or looking for work. The Guardian also stated that the increased burden of living costs is driving the trend of unretirement where retirees aged 65 and older are returning to the workplace.

Experts say that increased living expenses are pushing retirees with growing difficulties in getting by on their retirement savings to go back to work or look for a job, or older people near retirement to delay their retirement. Former UK Pensions Minister Ros Altmann said that the fear of inflation has driven some to return to work even if their health may not be up to it. U.K. Charity Director at Age Caroline Abrahams noted that carefully laid retirement plans are now shot to pieces by the storm of inflation drawing near.

The prices in the U.K. are showing a rise steeper than that of pension. The country’s inflation rate reached 9.4 percent last month when the state pension increased by only 3.1 percent compared to 2021. The burden of rising cost of living is expected to go up further due to energy prices projected to soar this winter by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The share of economically active population among people over 65 is near its peak since the record began. As of July this year, 11.6 percent of people aged 65 and older, or 1.43 million people, are economically active, which is almost equal to the record high of 11.9 percent, or 1.44 million people, in July 2020.


asap@donga.com