I did this because I believed (based on what I'd read online) that being "Retired" meant higher insurance premiums, so I was trying to avoid that.
The bike choosen for this test was a CB1000r with a value of £5,000 and the results were interesting, so I thought I'd share them.
(Cover type - fully comp, full NCB, bike garaged, minimal excess etc).
Employed (Electronics Engineer) £82.20
Un-employed £138.61
Retired £82.01
Self Employed £97.86
House Person £89.02
So the moral of this story.. don't be un-employed.