More than one million pensioners working in UK

The number of over 65-year-olds working has increased to more than a million since the coalition came to power in 2011, according to research from Saga.

The company, which specialises in services for the over-50s said there had been a 36 per cent increase since May 2010, to 1.09 million, partly following the abolition of the default retirement age.

Paul Green, Saga’s director of communications, said: “Thanks in part to the abolition of the default retirement age many more older people are able to continue in work for as long as they choose to do so, rather than at the whim of their employer.

Critics of the abolition of the default retirement, claim that whereas older workers are protected from being sacked by bosses who perceive them as being too old to work, there are now record numbers of over-65s without adequate pension provision who have discovered that they cannot afford to retire.

Economist Dr Ros Altman, recently appointed as Business Champion for Older Workers, said unemployment among 50 to 64-year-olds has fallen more slowly than for younger workers. She said it suggested the over-50s were finding it more difficult to get back to work, with employers and recruitment agencies focusing on hiring young people.