Disability and poor health are preventing nearly half a million people approaching retirement from working, a figure that will only increase as the state pension age (SPA) starts to rise, according to a TUC analysis of official labour market data.

The average 50-year-old man earns nearly 60% more than the average 50-year-old woman, with an £11,000 earnings gender gap hitting women’s retirement saving, new research conducted for MetLife shows.