Older generations should choose to work in later life, not be forced to do so through financial necessity.

A spokesperson for Help the Aged said it is not necessarily a bad thing that people are working longer, but this has to be a result of personal choice.

People over the age of 65 are often physically and mentally able to continue working, the spokesperson added, which is often a far cry from how society perceives them.

"When you think older workers you think ‘poor thing’ and ‘sending grandmother out to work’ but that’s not the case at all," he continued.

The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics, published in October 2008, state life expectancy in the UK to be 76.9 years for males and 81.3 years for females.

Between 1980-82 and 2004-06, life expectancy at age 65 in the UK increased by four years for men and 2.8 years for females.

Improving mortality rates mean that the chance of a new born boy reaching the age of 65 has increased from 74 per cent to 84 per cent.