Working Longer, Living Harder? Pension Change and Women 60 years+

Activity Format

1. Co-Created Video Reel (Key Output)

A short, impactful video will be co-created with participants and/or community members, drawing on real narratives from the research. This will:

Bring lived experiences to life through storytelling

Highlight themes such as financial stress, delayed retirement, and policy impacts

Be designed for public audiences and shared during the Festival and online

Support broader engagement beyond the live event

2. Interactive Public Event (60 minutes)

Short, accessible presentation of key findings

Screening of the co-created video

Facilitated discussions on financial wellbeing, retirement expectations, and workplace support

Collaborative activity (e.g. “What needs to change?”) to generate audience insights

Interactive tools (e.g. Mentimeter) to capture audience perspectives

Key Messages

Financial insecurity is a significant but often overlooked barrier to workplace wellbeing among ageing women

Pension reforms and cost-of-living increases are extending working lives and reshaping retirement expectations

These pressures can lead to stress, uncertainty, and reduced quality of life

Co-created storytelling can powerfully communicate research and influence public and policy conversations

Expected Outcomes

Increased awareness of the links between money, work, and wellbeing

Amplification of ageing women’s voices through a co-created public-facing video

Meaningful dialogue between researchers, communities, and stakeholders

Audience insights to inform future research, policy, and impact work

Why This Matters

At a time of rising living costs and shifting pension landscapes, many women are working longer than anticipated, often under financial strain. By combining research evidence with co-created storytelling, this project will make social science research relatable, accessible, and impactful—ensuring lived experiences are at the heart of conversations about money, work, and wellbeing

For many women now in their 60s, retirement was never imagined as a luxury — it was a milestone they had planned their lives around.

“I think because you always expected you'd be finishing work at 60, it's a heck of a shock.”

Changes to the State Pension age have shifted that expectation, often suddenly and with little room to adjust. For women in low‑paid work, the impact is not just about working a few extra years — it reshapes what later life looks like entirely.

Instead of a transition into retirement, many are facing a future of continued employment, often in insecure or physically demanding roles, while managing rising living costs and limited financial safety nets.

“So, I don't think I will ever retire...I just think with the cost of living and everything else I won't stop working...because if I'm at home we've got to keep warm haven't we? There are only so many jumpers you can put on and fleeces.”

These experiences highlight a growing divide in who can afford to retire, and who cannot. This session explores how pension changes intersect with gender, low pay, and inequality — and what it means for women ageing at work today.

Summary

This project explores how financial insecurity—particularly linked to pension changes and the rising cost of living—shapes the workplace wellbeing of ageing women in the UK. Drawing on qualitative research with women aged 60+, the project will highlight the lived experiences of working later in life in lower-paid roles, financial stress, and disrupted expectations of retirement.

Aligned with the ESRC Festival 2026 theme, “Money, Finance and the Cost of Living,” the project will engage the public through an interactive event and a co-created short video reel, amplifying the voices of ageing women and fostering dialogue around financial justice, policy, and wellbeing.

Dr Clare Edge, Senior Lecturer in Psychology, University of Salford

Target Audience

Members of the public (particularly midlife adults and ageing adults as well as their line managers)

Community and advocacy groups (e.g. those focused on pensions, ageing, or gender equity)

Employers and HR professionals

Policymakers and stakeholders

Of particular interest to those interested in ageing women's workplace wellbeing. 

Please email Clare on c.e.edge1@salford.ac.uk

24 hours before start of the event