If you’re a woman looking forward to retiring after years in the workforce, brace yourself. You may have less company than you expect.

The share of older women remaining in the workforce has increased sharply over the past 20 years, much more quickly than for men. In 1992, just 23 percent of women ages 55 and older were working, or 59 percent of the share of men, according to BLS data. But by 2012, 35 percent of women in that age group were working, equivalent to 75 percent of the share of men. And the BLS expects women to account for 82 percent of the over-55 workforce by 2022.

“I think the women are going to be the leaders in this,” said Ken Dychtwald, founder and chief executive of Age Wave, a company focused on the aging population.