Barnsley Hospital sees 170 per cent rise in staff working over state pension age

Financial planning experts, Money Minder, sent Freedom of Information requests to more than 50 NHS Foundation Trusts across England to reveal how many workers aged 66 and over were staying within permanent contracts within the NHS.

Barnsley Hospital NHS Foundation Trust came in top place in the list of NHS Hospital Trusts employing more people past retirement age and has seen one of the highest increases of people staying past 66 with a 170 per cent increase.

The hospital saw a rise from 24 to 65 between 2018 and 2022.

Ray Black, managing director and chartered financial planner at Money Minder said: “The rising cost of living has meant that some seniors have decided to adapt their way of living to afford the increase in bills, or potentially, they are still working in order to fund a more rewarding retirement lifestyle.

“For others, it will be because they are not quite ready to retire and feel they have more to offer but would prefer to do so on a part-time contract, rather than full-time.

“And for others, the extra two or three days a week helps pay for the longer holidays and trips abroad that they want to enjoy.”

A spokesperson for the Barnsley NHS Foundation Trust said: “The Trust has seen a large increase in the number of staff member choosing to work beyond the age of 65.

“This is partly a reflection of our strategy of retaining skilled workers within the Hospital. Barnsley Hospital is seen as a great place to work and we have introduced a number of initiatives to support those staff who want to carry on working.

“Staff now have the option to ‘flexibly retire’ from work which allows them to access their pension benefits but still carry on working, often as a way of managing the transition from full-time work to retirement.

“We are proud of the number of staff who have chosen to continue working for the hospital ensuring continuity of high quality services to our patients.”