Governments are seeking strategies to extend working life, but with limited evidence on the attitudes to work, and motivation of workers over 50. This paper reports the findings of two national surveys which aimed to increase understanding of the attitudes to work of older people in the UK. They found that older people generally view work very positively, but that the forces which divide the labour market as a whole have an increasingly polarising effect as people grow older. The paper suggests that successful implementation of ‘extending working life’ policies will depend on a better understanding of the quality of work, of the diversity of older workers, and of the role of training.