Retirement law ‘being used as redundancy alternative’

Posted 26/02/2010

A leading charity representing older people has claimed that the current law on retirement ages is being used by some companies to force employees out of their jobs.

Age Concern and Help the Aged said that the default ages of 65 for men and 60 for women is leading to discrimination and putting people out of jobs they may be very good at, no matter what their circumstances.

Michelle Mitchell of Help the Aged said some firms are using the law as a cheap alternative to redundancy.

“It is the most disturbing example of age discrimination which still tarnishes later life for so many people,” she added.

The government has said it is carrying out a review into the situation.

Insurance provider Prudential recently estimated that there may be as many as 1.8 million people working past retirement age by 2019 as a result of the UK’s ageing population.

This is more than double the number doing so today.