25 Mar 2025
Unequal opportunity: How your postcode impacts your chances of working into your 50s and 60s
There are more than three times as many 50-64-year-olds in work in the South East of England compared to the North East, our new analysis reveals.
There are a million more older workers in the South East region compared to the North East delivering an additional annual boost to the local economy estimated to be worth up to £86 billion, according to our new analysis.
A factor in this economic inequality is the sizeable gap in employment rates for people aged 50-64 across the country, as highlighted in our newly published State of Ageing 2025 report.
In the South East, three in four people (75%) in the age range are in work compared to the North East where fewer than two in three (66%) are in work.
The figures reveal a postcode lottery in opportunity for older workers in different regions of the country highlighting the need for a targeted approach from mayoral authorities aimed at local labour markets and the delivery of employment support designed for people aged 50 and above.
Our State of Ageing 2025 also reveals the North West as the area of the country with the highest proportion of older people out of work because of ill-health.
The new report, to be tomorrow, reveals significant regional variations in the age penalty for older workers with some regions showing a pronounced drop-off in employment rates for people aged 50 and above compared to younger age groups.
Dr Carole Easton OBE, Chief Executive at the Centre for Ageing Better, said:
Where you live has such a strong bearing on opportunities in life in this country, and that is certainly true if you are looking for work in your 50s and 60s. The odds are already unfairly stacked against older workers in an ageist labour market but that can be significantly compounded by the local labour market you are trying to find employment in.
“When these regional inequalities combine with other factors such as poverty, poor health, or disability then the odds are really stacked against many people finding work in their 50s and 60s. The result is a detrimental impact on individual’s mental health and wellbeing, their finances and their ability to save for retirement.
“Local authorities are best placed to understand the unique challenges and opportunities of local labour markets. With the greater powers around employment that further devolution is bringing, combined authorities and regional mayors have an opportunity to tackle the barriers that older workers face and help unleash their full potential to the benefit of the local economy. Traditional employment support has not served people in their 50s and 60s particularly well. Employment support tailored to local labour markets with a specific focus on the needs of people in this age group could deliver so much more.”
The State of Ageing 2025 report reveals that the North West has the highest percentage (50%) of people aged 50 to 65 who are out of work due to their health – compared to just one in three (33%) in the South West.
Almost one in ten (9%) people aged 50 to 65 in the South East who are out-of-work are classified as unemployed, defined as looking for a job and able to work, compared with just 4% in the East of England. Nationally the percentage of out-of-work 50 to 65-year-olds considered unemployed is 6%, with the majority of those not working in this age group classed as economically inactive, defined as not actively looking for a job or able to work.
Nationwide, the employment rate of people aged 50 to 65 (69%) significantly lags behind that of people aged 35 to 49 (85%).
But this employment rate gap grows even wider in the North East (19.8 percentage points) and London (19.1 percentage points) while the age penalty is lowest in the North West (11.6 percentage points) and the South East (13.9 percentage points).
In the North East, Disabled people aged 50 to 65 are twice as likely to be out of work as non-disabled people.
Fewer than two in five (37%) Disabled people aged 50 to 65 are employed in the region compared with almost four in five (79%) non-disabled people of the same age - a disability penalty gap of 42 percentage points.
The highest employment rate of Disabled people aged 50 to 65 is in the South West (53%), 16 percentage points higher than the North East.
Dr Emily Andrews, Deputy Director for Work at the Centre for Ageing Better, said:
Our State of Ageing report highlights two key reasons we need to rethink our approach to workers in their 50s, 60s and beyond. If the government wants to hit an overall employment rate of 80%, there are two groups of people whose employment rate lags behind this target: people aged under 25 and those aged 55 and over. The government has set out specific plans to improve the employment rate among the under 25s, but not among the over 55s. It won’t meet that target until it does.
“Work in later life has changed but government policy has not caught up. Where retirement was once generally a ‘cliff edge’, with people moving directly from full-time work to no work, transitions are becoming more diverse and complex. That is a significant change that needs to be accounted for.
“Before any further changes are made to the state pension age, the government should undertake a holistic review of its approach for people in their 60s so that policy better reflects the needs of this changed reality.”
As part of its State of Ageing 2025 report, we are calling on the UK government to consider extra financial support for people approaching state pension age who are unable to work, and employment support for those above state pension age who want and need to work.
This should be as part of a holistic review to the government’s approach for people in their sixties in recognition of the fundamental changes to retirement that have taken place over the last 20 years.
Strategic authorities and their mayors also need to ensure that high standards for people in their fifties and sixties are built into the design of local Get Britain Working plans and locally supported employment programmes.
Employers also have a significant role to play by showing their commitment to help 50+ workers flourish in a multigenerational workforce. One way they can do this is by joining the 500 employers who have signed our Age-friendly Employer Pledge.
