The Centre for Ageing Better [1] is a What Works Centre, part of the What Works Network – an initiative that ‘aims to improve the way government and other organisations create, share and use high quality evidence for decision-making’ [2]. In 2015 the Centre received a £50 million, 10-year endowment from the Big Lottery Fund. The Centre has partnered with Business in the Community to identify and test what works to recruit, retrain and retain older workers, and has put out a call to hear from employers across the country who see the benefits of older workers and who are implementing changes to create age-friendly workplaces [3]. With Ipsos Mori, the Centre has also held workshops with people with lived experience to help inform its focus on ‘Working lives’ [4].