Government set to scrap default retirement age

Prime Minister Gordon Brown has announced that the government's review of the default retirement age of 65 is being brought forward to next year.

Writing in a new strategy document¹, he says that "evidence suggests that allowing older people to continue working, unfettered by negative views about ageing, could be a big factor in the success of Britain's businesses and our future economic growth." The clear implication is that the plan is to remove the right of employers to retire employees on the grounds of age alone.