Semi-retirement in the UK: gliding, not jumping

What semi-retirement means

Semi-retirement is the stage between full-time work and full retirement. You keep some paid work, but less of it: fewer days, shorter hours, a lighter role, or freelance projects. The rest of your income might come from savings, a private pension or, later, the State Pension.

You will also hear flexible retirement, phased retirement and partial retirement. They overlap. Phased or flexible retirement usually describes a formal arrangement with an employer or pension scheme, such as reducing hours and drawing part of a workplace pension. Semi-retirement is the wider lifestyle. Our phased retirement guide covers the mechanics in detail.

There is no legal definition and, since the default retirement age was abolished in 2011, no age at which an employer can make you stop.

Why more people are gliding

The old model was a cliff edge: full-time on Friday, retired on Monday. For a lot of people that no longer fits, for three reasons.

• The money. Many people in their 50s with moderate savings cannot afford to stop completely at 55 or 60, and the State Pension does not start until 66 to 68.
• The time. In the UK, average healthy life expectancy is about 61 years at birth on ONS figures for 2022 to 2024. Waiting for State Pension age to stop work can mean waiting past the healthiest years.
• The person. Work gives structure, purpose and people. Stopping overnight can be a shock; cutting down gradually lets you adjust.

It is already common. The number of over-50s working part-time reached a record 3.6 million in 2023, according to Rest Less analysis of official figures reported by Personnel Today.

Ways to semi-retire

Fewer hours with your current employer

Cutting your hours, whether through fewer days or shorter ones, is the simplest glide. You keep your role, colleagues and some pension contributions. Every employee in Great Britain can make a statutory flexible working request from day one in a job. Our guide to working 4 days a week before retirement covers how.

A different, lighter role

Stepping down from a management role to a specialist or mentoring one can cut stress without cutting days. Pay usually falls, so check the effect on any final salary pension first.

Freelance, consulting or a portfolio

Selling your experience by the project gives the most control over your time, but income is less predictable and you lose employer pension contributions.

Something new entirely

Some people use the glide to try work they always wanted to do: smaller, local, seasonal or creative. Lower pay matters less when savings carry part of the load.

How the money works

Semi-retirement usually combines three things: part-time pay, private pensions or savings, and later the State Pension. The gap between when you cut down and when your State Pension starts is what we call your bridge years.

• Part-time pay falls by less than your hours. Because the pay you give up is the most heavily taxed slice, a 40% cut in hours often costs around a third of take-home pay. Try the part-time pay calculator.
• Private pensions. You can usually take a defined contribution pension from 55, rising to 57 on 6 April 2028, while still working. Usually 25% can be taken tax-free; the rest is taxed as income. Taking taxable income flexibly triggers the Money Purchase Annual Allowance, which caps future contributions at £10,000 a year. Check your ages with the pension age checker.
• Final salary schemes sometimes allow flexible retirement, taking part of your pension while you reduce hours. Ask your scheme what it offers.
• The State Pension is £241.30 a week in full for 2026 to 2027 and needs 35 qualifying years. Part-time work usually still counts. Estimate yours with the State Pension calculator.

Planning your glide

1. Know your dates. When can you take each pension, and when does your State Pension start?
2. Know your number. What lifestyle do you want, and what would it cost? The how much do I need to retire calculator uses the latest Retirement Living Standards.
3. Model the steps. What does dialling down to 80% cost? To 60%? How long will your savings need to bridge?
4. Check your State Pension record and fill gaps if it is worth it. See how to check your State Pension forecast.
5. Plan the time, not just the money. What will the extra days be for? People who glide well usually know what they are gliding towards.
6. Get free guidance. If you are 50 or over with a defined contribution pension, you can book a free Pension Wise appointment through MoneyHelper.

Questions people ask