Default retirement age to go

London – Further to our recent comment piece on the subject on the Process Engineering website, the UK government has now confirmed that it will remove the Default Retirement Age (DRA).

Ministers have decided to proceed with their plan to phase out the DRA between 6 April and 1 October 2011.

The move is intended to give people have more choice when to stop working, though could also present some major problems for employers in the process sectors – especially does who fail to develop strategies for the employment of older workers .

As well as benefiting individuals, the freedom to work for longer will provide a boost to the UK economy, according to a Government statement.

Currently the DRA enables employers to make staff retire at 65 regardless of their circumstances, but the Government has decided to change the rules as, it said, people are living longer, healthier lives.

Employment relations minister Edward Davey explained: “Retirement should be a matter of choice rather than compulsion - people deserve the freedom to work for as long as they want and are able to do so.

“Older workers can play an incredibly important role in the workplace and it is high time we ended this outdated form of age discrimination.

The Government is putting in place support measures to help business adapt to the change, though it noted that about two-thirds of employers already operate without fixed retirement ages - and many of those with retirement ages already offer flexibility for workers to work longer.

Minister of state for pensions Steve Webb said: “It’s right that we put an end to this outdated form of discrimination where employers can force people out of a job simply because of their age. We will work with employers to ensure that the transition is fair and well understood.”