Some 53% of the over-55s still have a paid job, according to new figures from the state-run job centres, showing efforts to keep people working are paying off.

Early retirement schemes and low female employment rates meant that just 25% of the over-55s were still working in the 1990s.

But the government has since made it less financially-attractive to stop working early. In addition, more women are working in better jobs and are less likely to quit as they get older, the UWV said.

The government is in the process of raising the state retirement age from 65 to 67.