Pensioners embrace self-employment

04 March 2013 09:48

Working pensioners are more likely to be self-employed than the rest of the working population

Working pensioners are more likely to be self-employed than the rest of the working population

Self-employment is much more common among working pensioners than the rest of the population, new research has revealed. Almost one in three working pensioners are self-employed while the same is true for just 13.5% of the rest of the working population, data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed.

And for the first time ever, the statistics revealed that a higher proportion of male (12.2%) than female (11.6%) pensioners undertake paid work. The ONS also suggested that working male pensioners tend to be in more senior roles than female pensioners and the respective types of job also tend to differ. While men are said to be typically in professional occupations, skilled trades or positions such as managers, directors and senior officials, the most common jobs for women were elementary occupations, such as cleaners, administrative positions and work within the professional occupations.

There may be myriad reasons for self-employment being significantly more common among pensioners as a whole than the rest of the population. But whatever the underlying factors, perhaps self-employment gives pensioners that much-needed flexibility when it comes to meeting family commitments or taking holidays - which means they can make optimum use of their seniors' travel insurance cover to enjoy a full and varied retirement.

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