Many approaching pension age are too ill to work

Disability and poor health are preventing nearly half a million people approaching retirement from working, a figure that will only increase as the state pension age (SPA) starts to rise, according to a TUC analysis of official labour market data.

The TUC research finds that the employment rates for those approaching the current SPA are low, with just 54% of men aged 60-64 and 62% of women aged 56-60 in work.

Ministers seem to think that putting up the state pension age will automatically increase working lives, yet the TUC argues that many older people are unfit or will find it hard to find work and so will end up in a new limbo zone - too young for a pension, and too old to work.

Nearly two in five of those approaching the SPA are economically inactive (defined as someone who has not sought work in the last four weeks), with long-term sickness and disability cited as the main reason for then not working.