Calls for change to retirement laws

Jan 31 2010 by Michael Kelly, Sunday Sun

THERE is a growing clamour for people to be allowed to work past their retirement age. A change in the current law would put billions of pounds into the economy, bail out elderly people worried about their retirement and also provide many people with a reason to get up in the morning. So what’s the problem?

SPRIGHTLY Sydney Prior has no plans to retire just yet. And why should he? He enjoys his job, gets on well with his colleagues and is popular with customers at B&Q. So he’s 95, what does that matter?

In the future it will make no difference at all if campaigners have their way. At present, it is at the discretion of employers whether you are allowed to work past the official retirement age - 65 for men, 60 for women.

Last week the Equality and Human Rights Commission said people should be allowed to work beyond the age of 65 and with more flexible hours.

The Commission wants Ministers to scrap the retirement age, saying it discriminates against people, and deputy chairman Lady Prosser also said it made good business sense in a recession to recruit and retain older talent.

With the state pension age set to rise to 66 in 2024 and 67 a decade later, the commission says retirement law is outdated.

In a survey by the commission of 1,500 people over 50, 62% of women and 59% of men said they wanted to continue working beyond pension age.

Two-thirds said they were fit for work and cited job satisfaction and financial necessity as reasons to carry on.

Baroness Prosser said: “Radical change is what older Britons are telling us needs to happen for them to stay in the workforce.

“Britain has experienced a skills exodus during the recession and as the economy recovers we face a very real threat of not having enough workers - a problem that is further exacerbated by the skills lost by many older workers being forced to retire at 65.”

However, not everyone is for such a change. David Yeandle, spokesman for manufacturers’ organisation the Engineering Employers’ Federation (EEF), advised caution and said current Government policy on the matter was “working very well”.

He said: “The Government should undertake a proper, thorough, evidence-based review rather than make decisions on the basis of just one report.”