Sir, Forcing people to retire at 65 is at odds with policies to extend working lives and promote a positive vision for our ageing society. It means that people in their late 50s and early 60s are denied opportunities in the workplace and increases dependency in later life by pushing them out of employment when they could be building up their pensions. Keeping older workers in their jobs will also be vital as we come out of recession — the economy will depend on them to boost the labour supply and spending power as it recovers.

Nearly 90 per cent of people over the age of 50 want enforced retirement to be scrapped and many employers already choose not to use it. Despite this, the Equality Bill, which is currently in the House of Commons, reinforces current regulations that allow people to be pushed out of their jobs when they reach 65. If this rule was applied to MPs, nearly one MP in seven would be out of a job. MPs from all sides of the House have indicated their support for ending enforced retirement — the Equality Bill provides them with the perfect opportunity to prove that it isn’t one rule for them and another for everyone else over 65.

Michelle Mitchell

Age Concern and Help the Aged

Brendan Barber

TUC

Denise Keating

Employers Forum on Age

Chris Ball

The Age and Employment Network amanda ariss

Equality and Diversity Forum

Jackie Orme

Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development

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