'I don't think I'll ever be able to retire'

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Mandy Kemp has worked since she was 16.

But the 70-year-old is still working three days a week as a practice manager for a financial adviser - having been full-time until recently.

"I only have a state pension, and it wouldn't pay the rent and my living costs," she said.

"It's affordability more than anything else. I'm not a lover of benefits, so I'd rather try and do it on my own."

Kemp, from Dover in Kent, told the BBC that she must support her son and husband, who cannot work due to health reasons.

While she enjoys her job and keeping busy, the mother of two said that the future felt "very uncertain".

"Unless I got redundancy, I don't see how I'd survive for that long," she said.

"Unless I had a lottery win."

'Very precarious'

Dr Andrea Barry, from the not-for-profit group Centre for Ageing Better, said that "more and more" people were working longer over the last two decades.

Part of the growing trend is that people were living longer and that the state pension age had risen, according to Barry.

But she added that women were disproportionately affected as they were more likely to have had part-time jobs without pensions or caring responsibilities that meant they could not work.

She said that "overall" many people want to work past the retirement age, which she called no longer a "cut off".

However, some had "no choice" but to work due to the cost of living, a lack of savings and the rise in renting, Barry added.

He said that older workers contributed economically to society, especially if they had skills employers struggled to find.

Meanwhile, work can improve health and wellbeing by keeping older workers fit and avoiding loneliness, according to Barry, but admitted that it could be harmful for others.

"There are a lot of very precarious and vulnerable people in their 60s and 70s," she added.

'Keeps me young'

Jackie Haynes, who will be 80 this year, told the BBC that she loved her part-time job as an activity coordinator at the Sussex Grange care home.

"Quite a few of the residents are even a bit younger [than me]," she said.

Jackie added that working not only gave her purpose but also helped her feel socially connected.

"I love being with the residents as we can talk about the old days," she added.

"More important for me is the friendship. It keeps me young."

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Haynes said that she did not need to work financially as she has a couple of private pensions and owned her own home.

"The money is very, very nice. I can do extra things that I wouldn't normally do. I don't have to worry," she said.

Mike Sandford, from Redhill in Surrey, said that he was "extremely worried" about the possible mental impact if he retired from his role as a full-time mechanical design engineer.

"I need something to stimulate the mind," the 78-year-old told the BBC.

"I've got to be creative."

Mike Sandford

Sandford said that his hobbies of wildlife photography and guitar could only fill up so many hours in the day.

"I'd be climbing up the walls," he said.

"I have seen others who have retired, and they do nothing but sit in front of the television drinking wine all day.

"And you think, Jesus Christ, that's not me. I want to be active as long as I can be."

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