Why consider your future work options?

We work for many different reasons,  primarily to sustain and improve our lifestyle and therefore when we reach the financial ability to retire many people do.  However, due to the population living longer, governments moving retirement age later and studies showing that working for the vast majority is healthier, we should look at our options to make sure they align with the rest of our goals.
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Reasons you may work for longer than the retirement age

1. ‍Your savings/pension are not enough to sustain your lifestyle, which could be a result of;
   The state pension age has been increased
   Average life expectancy is increasing
   Cost of living increasing
2. ‍You gain purpose/status/achievement from work
   Many people's identity is closely associated with what they do, when they retire this can impact their sense of self worth
3. ‍You enjoy work
   Not everyone will enjoy all aspects of their work or enjoy work all the time but most will have gotten some enjoyment out of their work. Whether that be the social aspect or the intellectual challenges they need to solve at work. 
4. ‍You have other commitments
   You may need to care for parents/children or both as you age and this can limit what is possible in your current role.  

For some people who need to generate an income for longer and do not enjoy their work, it is even more important to decide how they will earn a living which will sustain them and keep them happy over the coming years.

What are the benefits of working longer?

Beyond an additional income there are the benefits of social interaction even though face to face interaction has reduced due to an increase in working from home, the wider social group has been shown to diminish cognitive decline.

Employed older adults had better health outcomes than unemployed older adults.

There are also the benefits of using your brain in an analytical way which can help with reducing any cognitive decline as you age, however that benefit is not realised if the job is too stressful, lacks purpose or is physically demanding. 

Results showed that verbal memory, which declines naturally with age, deteriorated 38 percent faster after retirement.

Reference: Working longer solves (almost) everything