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Over-50s in part-time work reaches record high

Published on: 4 Oct 2023

A record number of people aged 50 or above are in part-time work, according to latest government data.

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According to the Office for National Statistics, 3.6 million older people are working part-time in the UK – a record high, up 12% since 2021. There has been a 56% increase in older part-time workers in the past 20 years.

Rest Less, a digital community and advocate for the over-50s that analysed the figures, said that 25% of workers in their 50s are part-time, increasing to 40% of those aged 60-64 and 66% of the over-65s. 

A total of 781,000 people aged 66 and older are working part-time, up 18% since 2021; 55% are male.

“Long gone are the days of the linear career path of one or two full-time roles, nine-to-five for five decades followed by a sudden stop at retirement,” said Rest Less chief executive Stuart Lewis.

“Most mid-lifers today talk about ‘transitions’ rather than ‘stopping’, with many choosing more of a glide into retirement,” he added.

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