More older women are working than ever before and they now outnumber their male counterparts in the workplace, according to statistics published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) today.

The report shows that in the five years leading up to the male pension age of 65, 58.4% of men are in employment. For women, who become eligible for a state pension at 60, that figure rises to 63.9%.

The official figures also show that the employment rate beyond pension age is slightly higher for women, at 12.3% compared with 10.7% for men.

On a wider scale, the ONS reports that, since the early 1970s, male employment rates have fallen while female employment rates have risen.