Retirement isn’t dying out – but if you’re still in work, you could be forgiven for thinking otherwise. The number of British workers who consider themselves “retired” before the age of 65 has been falling since 2011, from a peak of 1.6 million.

The latest employment figures from the Office for National Statistics show a further fall in the number of early retirees to 1.15 million.

Aviva has suggested this week that if the current rate of decline continues then retirement before 65 could be at zero in the UK within 20 years. That trend is speculative, but there’s no doubt that retirement is moving later, driven by longer lifespans and funding challenges.

Last year, the Government  Actuary, which...