UK women are leaving work later than ever

UK women now leave work at 65.1 on average, a record high, Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) figures showed.

The DWP published its annual data on workers aged 50 and over on Thursday (24 September). The average exit age for women rose from 64.7 in 2025, while the figure for men stayed at 65.8.

The data showed 585,000 people aged 50 to 64 did not have a job but wanted to work in 2026, up 13,000 on a year earlier.

Ill health was the biggest barrier, with 62% of this group saying they were not looking for work because they were sick, injured or disabled. A further 16% said they were looking after home or family.

Around 866,000 people aged 50 to 64 were either actively looking for work or wanted a job, down from about 876,000 in 2025.

Women aged 50 to 64 remained more likely than men to be economically inactive, at 29% compared with 22.2%.

Among inactive over-50s, women were more than twice as likely as men to give looking after home or family as the main reason, at 16.5% against 7.4%.

Research from the Pensions Policy Institute found women in their late 50s hold just over half the private pension wealth of men.

Marianna Hunt, Personal Finance Specialist at Fidelity International, said dropping out of work in your 50s can force people into an early retirement they cannot afford.

Employment Minister Andrew Western said the government was overhauling Jobcentres and offering midlife MOTs to support older workers.

Annuity sales pass 100,000

Separate retirement income data from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), also published on Thursday, showed annuity sales rose 13.2% to 100,144 in the year to March 2026. Sales stood at 88,430 the year before.

Annuities pay retirees a guaranteed income for life in exchange for all or part of their pension pot.

Investment firm Quilter said higher interest rates and government bond yields have pushed annuity rates up sharply in recent years. This allows retirees to lock in significantly more guaranteed income than they could a few years ago.

More than half of retirees still buy annuities without regulated advice or guidance, the FCA figures showed.

Almost half of people entering drawdown now do so without regulated advice, up from around a quarter when the FCA first began collecting the data.

Drawdown lets savers keep their pension invested and take an income from it as they go.

Withdrawing 8% or more a year remains the most common rate for most drawdown customers, regardless of pot size. Savers with pots worth £250,000 or more are the exception, with their withdrawals spread more evenly across different rates.

People aged 55 to 64 continue to account for the largest share of full pension withdrawals, particularly those with pots below £30,000.

“Retirement is increasingly becoming a transition rather than a single event, with more people blending work and retirement over a longer period,” said [Name], [title] at Quilter.

Quilter’s Retirement Lifestyle Report 2026, based on a Censuswide poll of 5,002 UK retirees, found 60% are concerned about maintaining their standard of living. It also found 12% are considering a return to part-time work to support their finances.

“As retirement becomes more complex, ensuring people can access appropriate support, whether through guidance, targeted support or regulated advice, will become increasingly important,” [Surname] said.

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