The government is considering plans to coax retired middle-aged workers back into jobs to boost the economy.
Older people who have given up work could be offered what is being dubbed a "midlife MoT" to entice them back into employment, the Times reports.
The paper says the MoT would assess finances and opportunities for work.
It follows a recent House of Lords committee finding that a wave of early retirement following the pandemic has caused a huge labour shortage.
The report by the influential economic affairs committee examined the jump in economic inactivity - the number of people not in work or looking for work - and rising vacancies since 2020.
Economic inactivity has increased by 565,000 people since the start of the pandemic, according to the analysis.
The report highlighted retirement, increased sickness, changes to migration and the UK's aging population all contributed to the current tightness in the labour market.
Recent figures in October revealed that nearly 2.5 million people are not looking for jobs because of long-term sickness - adding to labour shortages
The boss of John Lewis said in August that the company faced an exodus of over-50s staff leaving the company during the Covid pandemic.
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As the House of Lords report was published on Tuesday, Lord Bridges called on the government to do more to support the economy.
In response the Department for Work and Pensions said it has already expanded its Jobcentre midlife MoT service.
Now, according to the Times, a source close to the work and pensions secretary Mel Stride said he is also keen to find innovative ways to address economic inactivity.
He confirmed that he met Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to discuss plans before the Christmas break.
A public information campaign focusing on people over the age of 50 could begin as early as spring.
Speaking to the BBC a Downing Street source said plans are being worked on to bring older people back to the workforce, but added that nothing had been decided on yet.Lord Bridges of Headley, chair of the committee, said to the PA News Agency: “There are a number of reasons why people left the workforce but as we kept looking it became clear that retirement was the biggest factor, the biggest change from the start of the pandemic.
“We can’t hypothesise too much, but one potential explanation is that people experimented with different lifestyles during the pandemic – they were forced to stay at home or work fewer hours – and then changed their working lives as a result, even when the pandemic restrictions changed back.”
He added that these findings were "bleak" and that the Government needed to do more to help address labour shortages.
According to The Times, a source close to the work and pensions secretary Mel Stride said he is also keen to find innovative ways to address economic inactivity.
He confirmed that he met Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to discuss plans before the Christmas break.
A public information campaign focusing on people over the age of 50 could begin as early as spring.
The Department for Work and Pensions said at the time of the House of Lord committee report being released that they would factor it into any workforce participation plans.
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