Retirement is no barrier for nearly four in 10 workers aged between 50 and 64.

Personnel Today reports research by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) found 31 percent of respondents who planned to retire at age 65 would change their mind if their employer allowed them to work flexibly.

The CIPD claims just 11 percent of the workforce work beyond state pension age currently.

The main reason most people want to work for longer is financial, with two thirds stating it is a driving factor. Some 52 percent said using skills and experience was important, 38 percent wanted the additional social interaction and 27 percent claimed working beyond 65 would raise self-esteem.

A total of 42 percent of men said they would definitely want to work beyond 65, compared with 34 percent of women.

Charles Cotton, of CIPD, told Personnel Today: "On one level the survey findings look very positive, in that they show a strong demand for working beyond retirement age that is as much down to financial as other reasons, such as individuals wanting to use their skills and experience.

"However, it is clear that government policy could do more to encourage more older workers to stay on by extending the right to request flexible working beyond parents and carers and making pension arrangements more flexible. If the government fails to do this, its target of having a million older people in work will become a mere aspiration."