I was one of the lucky people who could retire at 60 before UK pension age was extended. It was a stroke of luck because at that time I had to take on custody of my granddaughter which would have been difficult if I had still been working. She was 4 at the time and not even at school. I actually thought I would be bored once I retired but in fact it has been the complete opposite and I often wonder how I fitted work in! Bringing up a child again in my sixties is challenging to say the least but we are doing ok and I can honestly say my days are full.
I took some time off for a while for health issues. But my husband and I weren't prepared for the loss of money. Now that I have my issues under control I am back to work, and probably will be for a very long time!
Wife and I both waited until we reached our full retirement age... 66... to begin drawing social security. Waiting allowed us to continue working and not have limits on how much we could make. We are both still working full time. I'm 69 and she's 68. We both enjoy our work. My firm continues to not want to entertain any thought of my retiring. They have been extremely good to me. I can work one or two projects that cover 6 to 7 months/year and make way more than working a part time "senior" job locally. Will be finishing up a project in the next few weeks. They want me to commit to one more that is slated to begin April/May 2016 and conclude June/July 2017. I've told them we are setting April 15th as a "deadline". If the project has kicked off by then, I'll build it. The client has asked for me personally since I was on a project at their facility a couple years ago. If by April 15th the project is delayed... I'll pack it in and become "fully retired". Of course, I don't do well sitting in the recliner so would find something to keep me busy in addition to my daily 18 holes of golf!
I started a second family when I was in my thirties, so I still have a teenaged son. I stayed home for 20 years to raise that family, so I won't receive much from SS. I will definitely wait until full benefit age, and then continue to work part time. I can't just sit around and do nothing anyway. I prefer to work some, but I will be glad to be able to cut back on my work schedule.