THE END OF RETIREMENT
Posted on August 19th, 2026
For several generations, economic life in advanced economies has followed a clear pattern. There is a period of education. This is followed by work. Then comes retirement, when work stops.
That model will not last in an era of ever-longer lives and falling birthrates. The very notion of “retirement” where all work ends may come to seem quaintly outdated, as more and more people do some sort of work until much later in life.
This forecast draws on our previous chapters. A population that is better at managing health and enjoying longer lives will find it necessary and rewarding to move beyond a one-off retirement moment and instead taper work downwards over years or even decades.
This may mean that many Britons who are in their 20s today will continue with some sort of work well into their 70s, and potentially even longer. After all, in the scenario where lifespans head towards 150, it would be unsurprising to see people remain economically active beyond 100.
This may not be a smooth transition, given the strength of feeling that can be aroused by changes in state pension age and other public provision. So instead of trying to impose longer working lives, policymakers may be tempted to go with the flow by following – and facilitating – a trend for workers to choose some form of later-life work.
This is already underway. In the UK, the average age of exit from the labour market has reached its highest level on record (65.8 for men, 64.7 for women). There are nearly 1 million people aged 60+ in self-employment in the UK, up over a third in a decade.
Embracing this trend will require work to embrace flexibility. More part-time roles at senior levels, less linear career paths.
Workplaces will also need to adapt. Jobs will need to place less emphasis on physical intensity, a shift that robots and automation may support. Remote and hybrid working are likely to get easier, supporting participation at older ages. Meanwhile, the ever-greater use of AI may put an increased premium on interpersonal skills and judgment that can increase with age.
Cultural expectations are likely to shift too. It will become normal to see people over 70 in the workplace. A greater range of age diversity will become the norm rather than an exception.
“This may mean that many Britons who are in their 20s today will continue with some sort of work well into their 70s, and potentially even longer. After all, in the scenario where lifespans head towards 150, it would be unsurprising to see people remain economically active beyond 100…”
A more flexible approach to later life work is economically necessary and should support productivity; the alternative is labour shortages and unstable public finances. For workers themselves, the OECD and WHO suggest continued participation in work is associated with greater well-being in later life.
For employers, talent strategies will need to change. Retention of older workers will become more important. Training and reskilling will need to extend across the full life cycle. The distinction between “early career” and “late career” will blur.
For policymakers, the direction is similar. Pension ages will rise and the state pension will need to become more flexible, supporting part-time work earlier. It will become more common for occupational pensions to be paid to people who are doing some sort of work, pension incomes and wages combining to support households in their “third age”.
For investors, the consequences are structural. Longer working lives will change income streams. Instead of a sharp transition from earnings to pensions, households will blend part-time income with drawdown over extended periods. The result is a more gradual and less predictable decumulation phase.
Demand for income will not diminish — but it will stretch over a longer horizon. This favours assets capable of delivering durable, inflation-linked cash flows over decades: infrastructure, real estate, private credit and dividend-paying equities will all prosper from the end of retirement.
[1] Department for Work and Pensions (2025) Economic Labour Market Status of Individuals Aged 50 and Over: Trends over Time. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/economic-labour-market-status-of-individuals-aged-50-and-over-trends-over-time-september-2025
[2] OECD (2019) Working Better with Age. Paris: OECD Publishing. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1787/c4d4f66a-en
[3] World Health Organization (2024) Progress Report on the United Nations Decade of Healthy Ageing, 2021–2023. Geneva: WHO. Available at: https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240079694
Back to all News & Insights