09 July 2008
The Employers Forum on Age (EFA) a think-tank and campaigner on
age issues in the workplace, has called for a change in the way UK
business thinks about retirement. According to the EFA, compulsory
retirement at 65 is "outdated, no good for individuals and no good
for business".
The rethink is being driven by an ageing population, concerns
about the skills base of the workforce, and also challenges to
mandatory retirement ages, such as the case being brought by the
charity Heyday in the European courts. The big difficulty is
supporting employers to make what may be huge changes to bring such
a revolution about.
Rachel Krys, Director at The EFA said: "A fixed retirement age
is considered by many to be essential for workforce and pension
planning and some employers fear that they will have to continue to
employ people who can no longer do the job. There is also confusion
amongst employees who believe that having no retirement age will
mean they won't be able to access their pension when they planned.
In fact, there is no reason why someone can't claim their pension
and continue working."
The EFA has worked with a number of employers to bring about
change in this area. According to them, "[this] has resulted in a
much more flexible workforce with fewer skills shortages and none
of the anticipated down sides."
The EFA is calling on the Government to set a a timetable for
removing retirement ages, that gives employers at least two years
to prepare for the changes, and to give employers support to make
that transition.
Source: Perspective News
