Article How you can make your Second 50 career work for you

On average, we’re all living a little longer.¹ In fact, people currently aged 50 are now expected to have a further 36 years of working, living and enjoying ahead of them.²

However, the most intriguing element of our greater longevity is how it appears to be changing the ways in which we approach some of life’s biggest decisions – from how we work and manage our finances, to how we raise our families and look after our health.

As part of our Second 50 research into how we can all prepare for and make the most of a longer and more varied life, we’ve identified five key areas to consider: Work, Wealth, Family, Health and Wellbeing.³ We call these the Five Fundamentals.

The Five Fundamentals of later life: Work

The first in a new series, this article will look at the Fundamental of Work. We’ll explore the trends that show how the UK’s relationship with employment and retirement is changing, and share some tips for how you can make your later-life career work for you.

Unless otherwise specified, all data shared is from Aegon’s Second 50 survey of 900 UK workers and 100 retirees, in a nationally representative study conducted in July 2024.

• We're choosing to work for longer
• Our retirement preferences are changing
• Tips for making the most of your later-life career

We're choosing to work for longer

In 1995, the employment rate for 50 to 64-year-olds was 57%.⁴ In 2024, that same figure stood at 71%. Among those aged 65, this change seems to be accelerating even faster, jumping from 27% in 2014 to 40% just a decade later in 2024.

Across the UK, more of us are choosing to work later – and, thankfully, the reasons for doing so appear to be positive. Most of all, we found that half of workers highlighted a desire to keep their brain active among their reasons to continue working (50%). This was followed by simply enjoying work and working life (42%) and feeling empowered to continue in employment (23%).

However, there’s a considerable portion of workers who feel forced to work. 23% say their decision to continue working was driven by a lack of savings, while 17% expressed general anxiety over their retirement income and savings needs. Interestingly, 15% indicate they returned to employment after discovering their retirement income was less than they had expected.

Another interesting finding from our research was that a number of people see later life as an opportunity to take their career down a different path. In fact, almost a fifth of workers hope to try working in a different field as they get older (17%), including 16% of over-65s.

Our retirement preferences are changing

Traditionally, life has followed a three-stage pattern, where we spend our youth in education, the bulk of our lives working in our chosen field, and then our later years making a clean break from the workplace into a well-earned retirement. As we now start to live longer, multi-stage lives, alongside working later and in more varied roles, it seems that our relationship with that final retirement stage is changing.

Interestingly, we found that only 28% of current UK workers expect to make the traditional switch from full-time employment to full-time retirement. Instead, most now prefer a more gradual transition into retirement, making use of part-time roles and temporary contracts to extend their time in work as they get older (40%). And 22% of workers indicated they don’t ever plan on retiring, maintaining some form of paid employment throughout their later life.

Tips for making the most of your later-life career

With many of us working for longer, it’s important to consider how we can make the most of and enjoy our careers in a period of life that’s becoming less well defined and complicated. Here are some top tips.

Balancing work with shifting priorities and interests

As we move through our Second 50, it’s likely that our priorities and interests will change.

From a work perspective, you may want to pursue a promotion in your current role, or you might wish to experience working in an entirely new field that you’re more passionate about.

Beyond the world of work, getting older may raise health concerns that force you to take time off, care responsibilities to ageing parents might require greater attention as they age too, or you may simply desire to spend more time enjoying your hobbies.

Finding a balance between our working life and personal priorities – particularly in terms of maintaining an income that supports our needs – is vital to promoting positive wellbeing in our later years. Thankfully, there are a couple of things we can do to help us achieve this.

Hybrid and flexible work patterns

Hybrid and flexible work patterns can be great ways to balance your job and your personal commitments, as well as possibly helping you with the transition into retirement. Some companies may allow you to work remotely from home or within less rigid time structures than the traditional 9 to 5. If your employer facilitates such options and you think they could be of help to you, be sure to ask your manager.

Adapting your skills

Networking, volunteering, training, and keeping up to date with industry trends are all excellent ways to make sure you’re constantly improving existing skills and developing new ones. Doing so could not only help you to feel more satisfied in your current role, but it could also help you to find opportunities in any new fields that you may be interested in.

What's next

Employment is becoming an increasingly large part of our later-life plans, which is why it’s so important that we consider what we enjoy doing, how we balance it with our evolving needs, and how we can make the most of our time in work.

Keep an eye out for the next article in our series on the Five Fundamentals of later life, looking at how we manage our Wealth. In the meantime, learn more about the Second 50 in our article: Could you live to 100? What the ‘Second 50’ means for you, and check out our Money tips hub for more hints and tips.