Member Article

Currently, employers can lawfully require employees to retire at 65 (the so-called default retirement age) as long as they follow the correct procedure. This has come under increasing criticism, and is currently the subject of a legal challenge by the charity Heyday (part of Age Concern).

Whatever the outcome of the Heyday challenge, the Government had previously said it would review the default retirement age in 2011 to see if it was still needed. However, it has now announced it will bring the review forward to 2010 in response to changing demographic and economic circumstances.

Ministers acknowledge that older people now need more flexible retirement options and that the economic landscape has changed since the age laws permitting forced retirement at 65 came into force.

Given these comments, the smart money is probably on a change to the law following next year's review. The Government says any changes would not be implemented until 2011. Quite how employers will cope with the practical impact of this is a question for another day!