The numbers of people employed past retirement age are growing faster than any other section of the labour market, according to official data. The figures signal a significant change in the way Britons work and perhaps an even more profound change in the way they retire.

By March 2008, 1.3m men and women beyond the ages of, respectively, 65 and 60, were in the workforce, a rise of 8.8 per cent year on year. This was a much sharper rise than that for any other age group. The second most marked rise is occurring among those aged between 50 and retirement age, the point where a decade ago employers offered generous early retirement packages in order to shed their more expensive workers.