Men work longer to retire at same age as wives Jonathan Cribb, a research economist at the IFS and a co-author of the report, said, "Increasing the age at which women can first receive their state pension has led to significant numbers of women deferring their retirement, with over half of women aged 60 now in paid work for the first time ever. We also find that some husbands are responding by remaining in work for longer. The report said that while it was difficult to predicted exact figures for future employment levels among the over-60s further increases in the state pension age should result in a substantial increase in employment among this age group, which in turn would result in greater financial contributions to national budget. Joanne Segars, chief executive, National Association of Pension Funds, said: "The age profile of the average workplace is changing. Rising state pension ages will mean that more and more over 60s carry on working. We are all living longer, and to pay for that we are going to have to work longer too. Ms Segars said men and women might be delaying retirement because they want to keep working, or because they need the money. Some might be trying to postpone turning their pension pot into an annuity while rates are so poor. Annuity rates, the rate at which you fix your retirement income, are at currently low because they are linked to gilt yields. Women in particular are keen to make up pension contributions missed when they took breaks in employment to raise children. Poor stock market performance following the credit crisis has also meant that many employees pension pots are smaller than expected. More than half of all workers have told us they expect to keep working beyond the state pension age because they will not be able to afford to retire. It is essential that people try to plan how they are going to save for their old age," she said.