Overview
- Bupa’s 2025 Wellbeing Index reports a growing number of people working into their seventies and eighties, challenging fixed ideas of retirement.
- A survey of 8,000 adults found half of over-55s believe working past retirement keeps their brains active, with one in four saying it could help them live longer.
- Bupa’s Rex Fan says continued employment can strengthen neurological pathways, potentially lowering risks of conditions such as Alzheimer’s.
- Sir Charlie Mayfield, leading the Keep Britain Working review, argues retaining older workers makes business sense and can support economic growth.
- Employers are urged to offer flexible hours, tapered retirement, job shares, sabbaticals, and quicker access to treatment, as 440,000 over-50s retire early each year and 1.3 million aged 50–64 are on long-term sickness.