‘Law change needed’ for longer work retention

The law should be changed to better allow the retention of older employees – particularly those aged over 65 – one sector commentator has urged.

Dr Ros Altmann, advisor to the pension industry, said such a change would be "very good news" for workers who were coming up to retirement age and wanted to stay in employment because currently the law did not protect such individuals, meaning employers were able to fire them for their age.

She called this fact "ridiculous".

"It will be up to employers to manage their HR in such a way that they can assess whether someone is able to do the job and demonstrate that, rather than just saying ‘oh well, you’re 65, goodbye’," Dr Altman claimed.

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She went on to add that encouraging people to work for longer would be part of the solution to the current pensions crisis.

Her comments come as the government launches the Building A Society For All Ages strategy, to help the UK prepare for an ageing society.