Literally Working Until We Drop

After a lifetime of work, rather than be slipping into a pair of comfy slippers, opening a packet of Rich Teas and settling down in front of This Morning, more people than ever are being employed beyond their retirement age and it’s probably not because they all love their jobs.
The Government are continually nudging up the retirement age but i have never been able to work out whether the retirement age should go down as this frees up jobs for the upcoming generation but it seems that the choice is being taken away as the nations finances suffer and people are unable to afford to live on a state pension which is just above the average monthly living costs.
An analysis of the labour market by The Office of National Statistics found that there are now 1.43 million workers aged 65 and over in the UK, up from 457,000 at the beginning of the century and more than one in nine workers in the UK (11.5%) are now working past their 65th birthday, compared with just 5.2% in 2000.
The argument is that workers with many years of workplace experience have an incredible wealth of knowledge to share and i know some over 65's who have said that they will stop when they bloody well ready to but i also know many who carry on working out of financial necessity.
I guess it depends what type of job you are doing, my father was a bricklayer and by the time he retired at 65 his knees were shot and years of being outside in the cold, rain and snow did his body no favours so i expect someone in a nice office job will find it much easier to keep going but for many that choice has been taken away which may be worth remembering when you are in the polling booth later this year.