Almost half 42% of these ‘un-retirees’ are working again as they struggle to pay the bills in retirement.
Many are working long hours for low pay in the retail and hospitality sectors regardless of their previous careers.
But more than a third (36%) are still not earning enough money to meet their needs.
During the pandemic and its aftermath, thousands of older workers left their jobs – whether for health or family reasons, or a straightforward decision to retire.
The sharp increase in economic inactivity among this age group concerned policymakers, coming at the same time as employers reported struggling to recruit suitable staff.
Now a new survey of 1,156 people who have previously retired but since returned back to work shows 30% doing so because they need the extra money.
The same proportion say their work is either skilled or unskilled labour.
The retail sector, including supermarkets, has attracted 27% of the returners, while 16% have taken driving jobs such as parcel delivery.
14% are working in hospitality, 11% are cleaning and 3% are earning a wage making food deliveries.
They are also working long hours with 32% on more than 30 hours a week, 14% working 21-30 hours and 11% working between 16-20 hours.
When it comes to earnings, 39% of those surveyed say they earn up to £10,000 per year. 43% earn between £11,000 and £30,000, and 18% earn £30,000-plus.
Lee O’Brien, managing director of IAD, independent estate agents which commissioned the survey, said: “The fact that more retirees are going back to work shouldn’t go unnoticed.
“It says an awful lot about the financial situation many find themselves in, or the lack of confidence they have in their hard-earned savings being enough to see them through an enjoyable retirement. That said, returning to the workplace in your 50s or 60s can be a real source of joy and satisfaction.”
Recent data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed an estimated 32.7% of over-50s in the UK currently in employment which is a rise of 1.2% compared to last year. The number of over-50s in part-time work has also increased steadily over the past decade.
Today’s estimate of 3.5m people is 26% higher than it was in 2013 and 5.5% higher than in 2022. The over-50s now account for 42.1% of all part-time employees aged 35-plus.
