Pensions - Articles - Pension Trends, Chapter 4: The labour market and retirement

 In April – June 2012, for those over state pension age, for the first time since 2005 when Pension Trends chapter 4 was first published, there were fewer women than men in employment.

 In the same period, for men who were aged between 50 and SPA, there were around six times as many working full-time as there were part-time. This ratio is reduced to two-thirds after SPA.

 Around 31% of workers at or above state pension age were self-employed in April – June 2012. For those aged between 16 and SPA, self-employment accounted for only 13.5 % of the total workforce.

 A significant proportion of people (31.3%), who remained in employment at their State Pension Age (SPA) or above, were classified as self-employed in April-June 2012. This proportion is 2.3 times higher than was recorded in the 16-SPA age group, where self-employment only accounted for 13.5% of the total workforce.

 For those who were employed after their SPA or above, for the first time there were more men (12.2%) working than women (11.6%). It may be due to the gradually increasing SPA of women but other factors might also be involved.

 Men and women also carry out different types of work after their SPA. For men, the most common jobs include: managers, directors and senior officials; professional occupations; and the skilled trades. For women, the most common jobs were elementary occupations (such as cleaners), administrative positions and work within the professional occupations.

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