‘I’ve always thrown myself into work – now it keeps me alive’: the over-65s forced to join the ‘great unretirement’

theguardian.com:

Before Sue Brown retired three years ago, she felt burned out. At 67, she was juggling a busy job at a chauffeur company and caring for her partner, Neil, who had severe health issues. “I was taking bookings and managing drivers so I often left the house at 4am,” she says. “I’ve worked since I was 15, but it became too much.”

In February this year, Neil died. Two months later, Brown took a part-time job at a kitchen canteen in Dorking, Surrey, where she lives. At first she was looking for a distraction from her grief and a way to keep active, but as the cost of living soars, working has become a necessity. “I wasn’t entitled to any allowances after I lost Neil. I’m living in the mobile home that he left me, but my pension only gives me £720 a month.”

After food, bills and council tax are accounted for, there is no spending money left. Brown has to pay for a car because the local bus service is limited. “I’m quite lucky because I’m fit, apart from a bit of arthritis, but I don’t know how long that will last for,” she says. She worries that rising fuel bills could leave her unable to afford food.

Although she would like to be more financially secure and feels the government should be doing more to support people, she enjoys her job. “I mostly clean the tables and do the washing up, among other duties. It’s a nice place to work and I enjoy being around people.” She also gets a hot meal on every shift, which helps to drive down the food and cooking energy bills. “I’ve always thrown myself into work, but now it’s keeping me alive too.”

Stories like Brown’s are so common that they have inspired the phrase “the great unretirement”. New figures from the Centre for Ageing Better show that the number of people aged 65 or over