‘It’s exhausting but I think I’m going to have to keep working’: the over-65s who can’t afford to retire

Many of those who have left the workplace are being forced to return by the cost of living crisis to bolster their finances

Dee, 67, who lives in Accrington in Lancashire, left school at 14. She worked in factories, hairdressing shops and bars, and did secretarial temp work all over the country before she took a job at HM Revenue and Customs, where she worked full-time for 23 years.

Last year, in May, she began her retirement, but after only a few weeks she realised that she could not afford it because of the rising cost of living. I had two months off, then I had to return to work," she says. I rent my home and I can survive on my state pension of around 800 a month and two small private pensions, but I cannot live. My rent and household bills alone come to just under 700."