Default retirement age
Background to the consultation on phasing out the default retirement age.
On 29 July, the government published the Phasing out the Default Retirement Age (DRA) consultation seeking views on its proposals to phase out the DRA, fulfilling a commitment in the Coalition's Programme for Government and the Budget. The consultation proposed a six month transitional period ending with full abolition of the default retirement age in October 2011.
A Government response (PDF, 110 Kb) to consultation and the impact assessment (PDF, 441 Kb) , confirming that the Government will proceed with this plan for removing the DRA, were published on 13 January 2011.
Guidance
Business Link
Further background information and research together with updated DWP guidance for employers on workforce management without a fixed retirement age is available at : Business Link - Managing without a fixed retirement age
Acas
Guidance produced by Acas can be found on the Acas website at : Acas - Retirement Process and the removal of the Default Retirement Age
The consultation followed a joint review by BIS and the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) considering whether the default retirement age of 65 remains appropriate and necessary. In conducting the review, many issues including the needs of business and individuals in the prevailing economic climate were looked at.
Stakeholders and interested individuals were called to submit their evidence to the review: summary of submissions from stakeholders and interested parties (PDF, 49 Kb) .
Background to the Default Retirement Age
The Employment Equality (Age) Regulations, which came into force on 1 October 2006, provide for a default retirement age of 65 that employers can rely on if they wish. The regulations make earlier retirement ages unlawful unless employers can objectively justify them. The regulations also introduced a statutory right for individuals to request postponement of retirement beyond the age of 65.
Research
Several research documents have been released by BIS and DWP to support the Default Retirement Age review and consultation.
