More than one in ten people aged 66 and over in the UK are still working — that’s roughly 1.12 million people, up from 880,000 a decade ago. And a growing share of them are doing it from home. Remote and hybrid work has opened a path past State Pension age that barely existed before 2020. But the reasons older workers take that path are sharply divided. Some choose it. Others are pushed.
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This article is general information only and does not constitute professional advice. For your specific situation, consult a qualified professional.
The jump in older workers isn’t small. Between 2013 and 2024, the share of over-66s still in work rose from 8.7% to 9.5%. That extra 240,000 people didn’t all find desk jobs in an office. Remote work — now the norm for roughly two in five UK employees — has made it possible to keep earning without the commute, the set hours, or the physical demands of a workplace. The question is whether that flexibility is a genuine choice or a response to a pension that doesn’t stretch far enough. Here’s what you actually need to know.
What Working From Home in Retirement Actually Looks Like
The term “working from home in retirement” sounds like a contradiction. But it describes a fast-growing reality: people who have reached State Pension age but continue to earn, usually in a remote or hybrid arrangement. The key distinction is between those who choose to work and those who are forced to work.
Research published in The Conversation by Takao Maruyama and Vincent Charles draws a clear line. People who choose to work past 66 do so for reasons like funding holidays, not being ready to stop, or because their employer values their experience. People who are forced to work do so to pay essential bills or to boost an inadequate pension pot. The split matters because the two groups need completely different financial strategies. What I tend to notice is that most retirement planning assumes you stop working on a set date. That assumption is looking increasingly outdated for a large slice of the UK population. If you’re approaching 66 and haven’t thought about whether you’ll keep working — or whether you’ll have the option — it’s worth weighing against your current pension income. You might also want to read about unconventional retirement income streams that go beyond a traditional salary.
Who Works Past 66 — and Who Has No Choice
The headline figure — 9.5% of over-66s working — hides wide variation. The research identifies several groups that are significantly more likely to be forced to keep working rather than choosing to. The table below shows the key divides.
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| Factor | More likely to be forced to work | More likely to choose to work |
|---|---|---|
| Income | Lower earners covering essential bills | Higher earners funding discretionary spending |
| Occupation | Routine manual (+67%) and intermediate (+37%) | Higher managerial and professional |
| Housing | Mortgage or renting (+117%) | Own property outright |
| Gender | Women (+25%) | Men |
| Health | With long-term illness | Without long-term illness |
| Marital status | Single or non-married (+56%) | Married or civil partnered |
| Region | South of England | Other UK regions |
The housing figure is striking. A retiree with a mortgage or renting isn’t just slightly more likely to be forced to work — they’re 117% more likely, meaning more than double the probability. That’s a bigger gap than occupation, gender, or region. It suggests that the retirement income conversation often misses the biggest monthly cost people face. A pension pot that looks adequate on paper can feel very different when a rent cheque or mortgage payment comes out each month. The data also shows that early retirement is far less accessible to people in these groups — not because they don’t want it, but because the numbers don’t add up.
Where the Planning Around Retirement Work Goes Wrong
Assuming you’ll have a remote-capable role
Remote work is not evenly distributed. Higher earners, university graduates, and people in London are far more likely to have jobs that can be done from home. If you’re in a routine manual or intermediate occupation, the option to shift to remote work past 66 may not exist. Planning your retirement finances around an income that depends on a type of work you may not be able to access is a gamble. The research shows that 73% of jobseekers who want remote work are not currently in a remote or hybrid role — the supply of these jobs still trails demand significantly.
Underestimating the housing cost trap
The 117% figure for mortgage and renters is not a minor edge case. If you’re approaching retirement with outstanding housing costs, the likelihood that you’ll need to keep working is not just higher — it’s dramatically higher. Many retirement calculators assume housing is paid off. That assumption is increasingly unsafe. The proportion of older households with mortgage debt has been rising for years, and the research confirms that this group is the most likely to be working out of necessity rather than choice.
Ignoring the benefit interaction
Working past State Pension age affects means-tested benefits like Pension Credit. Earnings reduce your entitlement pound for pound above certain thresholds. The same applies to Housing Benefit and Council Tax Support. It’s possible to work and still qualify for some support, but the interaction is not intuitive. A small earnings increase can trigger a disproportionate loss of benefits. Checking your benefit entitlement before taking on work — and understanding how much you’d actually keep after tax and benefit withdrawal — is essential. The government’s response to the Home Based Working Select Committee notes that flexible working can support disabled workers and carers, but the financial interactions with the benefits system are not always straightforward.
Overlooking the NI record gap
Working past State Pension age means you stop paying National Insurance contributions. That’s fine for your own State Pension — you’ve already reached the age where contributions stop. But if you’re still earning, you may be missing the chance to top up missing NI years from earlier in your career. The deadline for voluntary NI contributions is usually six years after the end of the tax year, but there are time-limited windows to go further back. Working in retirement can generate the cash flow to afford those top-ups, but only if you know they exist. Many older workers don’t check their NI record until they claim their State Pension, at which point the window to fill gaps may have closed.
How to Structure Remote Work in Retirement
Know your “why” — and let it drive the numbers
The research splits retirees into two camps: those working for discretionary income and those working to cover essentials. The financial strategy for each is completely different. If you’re working to fund holidays and extras, you have flexibility to reduce hours or stop. If you’re working to pay the bills, you need to know exactly how much income your pension, State Pension, and any benefits provide — and how much of a gap your remote work needs to fill. A financial advisor can help model these scenarios, but the starting point is your own budget, not a generic retirement number.
Check your employment rights
All employees in Great Britain have a right to request flexible working, including remote or hybrid arrangements. The Employment Rights Act 2025 strengthens this: employers can now only reject a request if it’s “reasonable” to do so. The government is working with Acas to define what “reasonable” means, with changes taking effect in 2027. For older workers who want to phase into retirement gradually, this legal framework matters. You don’t need to ask for full-time remote work — you can request a compressed week, reduced hours, or a hybrid pattern. The right to request applies from day one of employment, not after a qualifying period.
Factor in the tax and pension contribution rules
Once you reach State Pension age, you can still contribute to a pension — but the rules change. You can pay in up to £4,000 a year to a defined contribution pension under the Money Purchase Annual Allowance if you’ve already flexibly accessed a pension. That’s a significant drop from the standard £60,000 annual allowance. If you’re working past 66 and want to keep building your pension pot, the MPAA restriction is easy to miss. You also stop paying NI, which means your take-home pay is slightly higher than a younger worker earning the same amount — but you also lose the NI contribution record benefit.
Plan for the health and setup costs
Remote work is not cost-free. The research notes that 18% to 39% of remote workers report physical issues linked to home working setups. For older workers, an inadequate chair, desk, or screen can cause real problems. The Access to Work grant scheme can fund specialist equipment and assistive technology for disabled workers, including those working from home. It’s worth applying before you start, not after problems develop. Employers also have a duty to make reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act. If you need a specific setup to work safely from home, you’re entitled to request it. For more on staying healthy while working in later life, see our guide to health and wellbeing in retirement.
The 2027 change that matters
The flexible working framework is being overhauled. From 2027, the “reasonable” refusal standard will apply, and the government is developing statutory guidance through Acas. This is the most significant shift in employment rights for older workers in years. If you’re planning to work past State Pension age, the legal landscape in 2027 will be more favourable than it is today. That doesn’t mean you should wait — but it does mean the option to request remote or hybrid work is likely to become harder for employers to refuse.
Frequently Asked Questions About Working From Home in Retirement
Can I claim State Pension and still work from home? ▾
Does working past 66 affect my Pension Credit? ▾
Can my employer force me to return to the office? ▾
What happens to my pension contributions if I work past 66? ▾
Is working from home in retirement better for my health? ▾
What if I can’t work from home due to my job type? ▾
The Gap Between Remote Work Access and Retirement Needs
The data draws a clear line. Remote work has made it possible for more people to stay in work past State Pension age. But access to that option is concentrated among higher earners, professionals, and people in London — the very groups least likely to be forced to work out of necessity. The people most likely to need the income — those in manual jobs, with housing costs, or with long-term health conditions — are the least likely to have a role that can be done from home. That gap is not going to close on its own. The 2027 changes to flexible working law will help at the margins, but they won’t create remote-capable jobs where none exist. If you’re approaching retirement and your current job can’t be done from home, the time to start building alternative income options or retraining is now — not when you hit 66 and realise the pension doesn’t stretch.
Remember: this article is general information only. For advice on your specific situation, speak to a qualified professional.
If this was useful, you might also want to read Retiring Abroad: UK Expats Reveal the Truth About Overseas Living.
Sources and Further Reading
Pension Pot Perfection: Maximising Your Retirement Income in the UK — A practical guide to getting the most from your pension savings, including contribution strategies and drawdown options.
Beyond the Pension: Unconventional Retirement Income Streams for UK Retirees — Explores side incomes, part-time work, and other non-pension income sources for later life.
Maruyama, T. & Charles, V. (2024). Who chooses to work and who is forced to after retirement? 🔗
Digital Journal (2026). UK’s remote work landscape in 2026: divides persist across groups. 🔗
UK Government (2025). Government response to the report of the House of Lords Home Based Working Select Committee. 🔗
Working From Home UK (2026). The UK Remote Jobseeker Report 2026. 🔗
