TUC research revealed approximately one in eight men and women stop working before state pension age due to bad health or disability.

The report called, Postponing the pension: are we all working longer? finds that almost 500,000 workers who are within five years of state pension age have to leave the workplace for medical reasons. The report also shows a clear North – South divide. In the South West of England sickness and disability is only cited by one in 13 people who have left the workplace in the years approaching state pension age. In the North East however, the number rises to one in seven, proving a more significant health issue across northern regions of the UK.

Additionally, people who work in lower paying jobs like carers, cleaners and more manual jobs are twice as likely to stop working prior to retirement due to sickness and disability.

The TUC feels that raising the state pension age is far too simplistic of an approach to increase the number of people working later in life. Of course this criticism doesn’t come without possible solutions. The TUC feels there are multiple other ways to encourage older people to remain in the workforce including things like flexible work schedules, statutory entitlement and auto-enrolment expansion.

The TUC report was submitted to the Independent Review of State Pension Age and will be used to consider what will happen to the state pension after 2028.