retirement guide a4 27/7/07 17:08 page 101 flexible ...flexible retirement and retirement: age...

Flexible Retirement and Retirement: Age Positive Guide

Retirement Guide A4 27/7/07 17:08 01

ContentsFlexible Retirement and Retirement

Introduction 1

Age Legislation 1

What this means for you 1

Retirement 2

Business benefits of a flexible retirement policy 2

Top tips and checklists for you to make your retirement policy more age positive 4

Checklist – Retirement: General good practice 4

Checklist – Flexible retirement – Good practice tips and techniques for employers 5

The retirement process 7

Understanding the new retirement process 7

Fair retirement flowchart – courtesy of ACAS 11

A changing workforce for employers 12

Age Positive Retirement: answers to your questions 12

Sources of additional information 13

Retirement Guide A4 27/7/07 17:08 Page 1

Flexible Retirement and Retirement: Age Positive Guide 1

Age Legislation As an employer, you need to be aware how the new Employment Equality (Age)Regulations 2006 affect retirement andpensions. The law covering retirement wasimplemented 1 October 2006; pension ageregulations came into force 1 December 2006.

The regulations make it unlawful todiscriminate against employees, job seekersand trainees on the grounds of age.

The regulations cover workers of all ages and all employers.

They cover all employment and vocationaltraining, including access to help andguidance, recruitment, promotion,development, flexible working, retirement,redundancy, pensions, perks and pay.

What this means for youSimply put, the new regulations mean thatyou need to:• look at your existing retirement policies

and practices and consider if they requirechange

• consider whether flexible retirementoptions would be beneficial to your business and your staff and

• check that your pension scheme and anypolicies, practices or routines you operateare compliant with the new legislation.

Remember, there is no official retirementage in the UK – the new age lawintroduces a ‘default age of 65’ but thisis not a mandatory retirement age.

Introduction Although employing and retaining an age diverse workforce has real businessbenefits, it is equally important for organisations to have flexible retirement and retirement policies in place.

This booklet will not provide you with in-depth advice and will not guarantee anylevel of compliance with age regulations. However, we understand that many smalland medium businesses don’t have dedicated Human Resources (HR) facilities, sowe have developed this booklet to provide some practical information and help foremployers of all sizes. It provides examples of how other small, medium and largeorganisations are managing their ageing workforce.

If you have any specific questions relating to finance, pensions or the newregulations, you will need to talk to a financial or legal adviser or to Advisory,Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS). Other sources of help and informationare also included in this booklet on page 13.


Flexible Retirement and Retirement: Age Positive Guide2

RetirementBusiness benefits of aflexible retirement policyLosing skilled and experienced workers can be an expensive business, no matter how bigor small your organisation. Therefore, forcingpeople to retire at a certain age does notmake good business sense.

Fixing a retirement age can lead to theunnecessary loss of skills and know-how.It therefore goes without saying that taking a flexible approach to retirement can be more beneficial to both the business and the individual employee.

The Chartered Institute for Personnel andDevelopment (CIPD) estimates that it can costas much as £8,200 to replace each employee– this may be less for unskilled posts or more(up to £12,000) for more senior positions.1

But whatever the figure, it’s costing you moneyand that isn’t a business benefit. It is essentialthat you keep hold of your experiencedworkers for as long as possible.

If your employees feel they have a part toplay, regardless of their age, they will feelmore valued and motivated to contribute tothe success of the organisation. This has theobvious benefit of improved productivity, as well as helping to ensure higher retentionrates – which leads to lower recruitment and retraining costs.

There are other widely acknowledgedbusiness benefits from retaining an agediverse workforce. For example, someorganisations have found older workersgenerally have better attendance and higherlevels of commitment to the company.

The experience that older workers bring canalso be harnessed to help train and developyounger workers.

Don’t discount implementing flexible working or flexible retirement optionsbecause you think they are too difficult orcostly. Employers agreed there were somechallenges, but the benefits in terms ofretention of skills, reduced recruitment costsand the filling of skills-shortage vacancies by opening up a wider pool of recruits, faroutweighed the costs of implementing the policy.

At South Wales Forgemasters (suppliersof forgings to the automotive industry),the process of training younger staff has been improved greatly by involvingexperienced, mostly older, workers on thecompany’s apprenticeship scheme. Manyof these more ‘mature’ staff have beengiven formal ‘trainer training’, allowingthem to pass on vital skills and providepractical support to new employees asthey learn on the job.

A recent Somerfield staff survey showedthat 80 per cent of employees over theage of 50 felt strongly committed to thecompany, compared with 62 per centoverall. Similarly, older workers were morelikely than others to say they were proudto work for the company.

B&Q experienced 39 per cent less short-term absenteeism after employing olderworkers at one of their locations.

BT believe that the success of theirflexible policies is evident from theincrease in the proportion of staff aged50+. In the period between 2001 and2005, it increased from 13 per cent to 25 per cent.

Domestic & General (the UK’s leadingspecialist provider of domestic appliancerepair protection plans) found that agepositive recruitment and retentioninitiatives reduced recruitment costs by 50 per cent.

1 www.cipd.co.uk. Annual Survey Report 2006: Recruitment, Retention andTurnover



There are a wide range of other benefits thatmany employers are not taking full advantageof. Although we accept everyone is anindividual, it is often shown that youngerworkers tend to be more IT proficient,whereas older workers often bring valuableexperience and skills from previous jobs andcareers. However, encouraging both old andyoung staff to work together and share theirdifferent skills through support and mentoringcan help you retain staff, utilise the diverserange of abilities and generate businessbenefits for the employer.

Last, but by no means least, retaining an age diverse workforce can help you meet thedemands of a ‘24/7’ work environment andprovide a better service to your customers,with obvious benefits to your business.

Soha Housing Who we areWe are a social housing provider based in South Oxfordshire, responsible formanaging 4,700 homes in the area andemploying about 90 members of staff.

What we doOur standard retirement age is 65, in line with the new regulations, but we are happy to consider any requests from members of staff who would like to continue past this age. Our flexibleretirement approach involves:• an open and transparent procedure

open to all staff approaching retirement• a phased retirement period, when

retirees work alongside those who are going to be taking over their role

• flexible working options (e.g. flexi time,part-time working) available to all staff,which allows older workers to changetheir working arrangements in line withbusiness need

• paying for employees who areapproaching retirement, as well as theirpartners, to attend an external pre-retirement training course, which helpsthem prepare personally and financiallyfor their retirement – all of our staffwho have retired in recent years havebeen on the course and told us it wasworthwhile.

How it has benefited our business• improved customer service – we have

been able to maintain a relatively stableworkforce, which is very important inproviding continuous care for ourelderly and vulnerable sheltered home residents

• lower turnover has saved us money, as we don’t have to spend so much on recruitment and re-training.

The Housing Solutions Group is a smallemployer who believes any employeewho wishes to work beyond their usualretirement age of 65 should be able todo so; to them, retirement is not a mustat 65. If the individual feels able and iscompetent to continue they can. In 2006they had six employees over retirementage and expect this number to increase.

Positive Contact provide customercontact solutions for a range of clients.Their age diverse workforce enables themto offer a variety of different advisorprofiles dependent on client needs,ideally mirroring the client customerbase. This has lead to satisfied customers and repeat business.



Top tips and checklists foryou to make your retirementpolicy more age positiveThe following checklists have been compiledfrom the practices adopted by employers whohave already reaped the benefits of a flexibleapproach to retirement2. However, employersof all sizes can benefit from their experiences,particularly the retrospective hints and tipsabout policy development.

Checklist – Retirement: General good practice

Companies of all sizes should keep a recordof the age profile of their employees indifferent departments and in differentgrades or positions. This will help you toidentify any areas of concern (e.g. whereall employees are nearing retirement orwhere you need to recruit to fill expandingor critical areas)Meet with your staff well in advance oftheir retirement to discuss when they want to retire or if they would like to work beyond 65Consider offering pre-retirement trainingor support to help employees prepare forthe financial and personal changes theywill face when they retirePlan ahead – make sure there is time forretiring workers to pass on their skills andthe benefit of their experience to youngerstaffIt may be possible to consider new ways ofworking to make it easier for staff to movefrom work into retirement – for example by reducing their hours or taking on adifferent role (perhaps with lessresponsibilities)If possible, give staff a range of options for staying on past company normalretirement age or default retirement age (65) – consider part-time working, jobsharing, short-term contracts or movingstaff into a coaching or mentoring role tohelp develop younger staff

Keep in touch with retired workers whomay want some casual or temporary work– you could use them as consultants or to help cover holidays, staff absence orbusy periodsBase decisions on facts – considerindividuals needs and abilities alongsidethe needs of your businessMake sure staff understand what theirdecision about retirement will mean fortheir pension entitlementsAn equality policy is one of the easiestways to demonstrate that you takediscrimination seriously. Considerincluding all forms of discrimination andharassment – gender, race, disability,gender reassignment, sexual orientation,religion, as well as age.

ACAS is the nominated agency to provideadvice and guidance on age issues – tocontact their helpline call 0845 7474747 or go online at www.acas.org.uk

2 Flexible Retirement: A Snapshot of Employer Practices 2006 published by DWP



Checklist – FlexibleRetirement: Good practicetips and techniques foremployers This information is taken from interviews with several large companies who already have flexible retirement policies in place3. They were in agreement that developing and implementing a flexible retirement policy took around six months, but that includedunderstanding how the options impacted on the company pension scheme, which was themost time-consuming phase. This should not be an issue for smaller employers.

They all agreed that once the details of the policies were decided and approved,implementation was a relatively quick process.

First steps

All employers need to decide which flexibleretirement options would compliment theirworking patterns and could be offered toall staff, for example, these could includepart-time, home working, flexitime,temporary or seasonal contracts,compressed hours or jobshare to name a few. Once agreed, a decision should betaken as to whether these should beincluded as part of your company policyCheck what arrangements currently existand which are your employees preferredoptions. Consider conducting a survey ofyour employees to find out their ideas andpreferencesEstablish if flexible retirement can bealigned with existing work-life balancepolicies (for parents and carers).Remember, offering flexible options only to older workers could be unlawfulIn the light of Age Regulations, if you have a normal or company retirement age, check whether it needs to be raised or removed. Look at examples of bestpractice in other organisations if you’re unsureIf you have separate HR and pensiondepartments, talk to both. It is important to open communications to discuss exactly what is possible at the outset.

For large organisations

Large organisations will need to establish a business case for introducing flexibleretirement. Determining how yourorganisation will benefit from this will be necessary in persuading buy-in fromsenior management or key stakeholdersYou will need to investigate all options andimplications (including pension schemeimplications) of the proposed policy onemployees and the organisation. You mayneed to consider the risks or implications of a flexible retirement policy on insurance,income replacement insurance andoccupational health risks. Seek externaladvice to help with this, such as an HR or pensions consultantConsider whether the flexible retirementpolicy necessitates any changes to thecompany pension scheme rules oradministration. Specific questions to beresolved include whether staff will beallowed to continue contributing to theirpension. If an employee is a member of adefined benefit scheme things tend to bemore complex. Agree whether staff cantake part of their pension (rather than all or none)Estimate the cost of offering flexibleretirement policies including increasedpension and insurance costs, plus potentialcost savings in areas such as recruitmentand training

Get senior management, key stakeholders,HR and pension scheme managers involvedat an early stage. This will save time andmean fewer revisions down the lineConsult widely about the potential optionsas soon as possible. This could be donethrough setting up an internal workinggroup to discuss and refine the policy.

St Helens Council have developed anolder worker policy, which means thatalthough the normal retirement ageremains at 65, all employees have theoption to continue to work dependent on the needs of the services. Thirty-sevenworkers have already taken up this optionacross a diverse range of occupations.

3 Flexible Retirement: A Snapshot of Employer Practices 2006 – published by DWP



This could include HR, union/staffrepresentatives, financial representatives,lawyers (internal and/or external), an actuary, pension representatives, line managers, occupational healthrepresentatives, the insurancedepartments and key stakeholders.

Next steps for all employers

Check you have a strong performancemanagement framework and clearlydefined job roles and objectives foremployees. These may need to beenhanced or amended to ensure that theycan be used to effectively manage (non)performance and reviewed to ensure theyare in line with the new age regulationsRemember – the performance of an olderemployee should be managed in exactlythe same way as a younger employee;having good systems in place willcounteract concerns about what to do if an older employee is under-performingYour contracts of employment will need to be reviewed to incorporate flexibleretirement policiesConsider how the policy can becommunicated to everyone. For smallcompanies, this could simply be by word of mouth or an e-mail, but in largercompanies this could be one of the mostdifficult parts of the process. You need toconsider the type of information needed by a) HR and Pension Scheme managers b) managers and line managers and c) all employeesPromote both your and your organisation’spositive stance on older employees in aclear and transparent way. In time this will contribute to the policies becomingembedded within the culture of theorganisation.

For large organisations

Talk to your communications department;the culture of the organisation and currentcommunication systems will determine thebest method and media of communicationto an extent. Communication channels toconsider include: pre-retirement courses;dedicated helplines; newsletters orbooklets; presentations to staff; intranetsitesInclude Frequently Asked Questions andhints and tips in your communicationinformation, about issues to consider and where to go for further informationConsider providing training to helpovercome possible resistance andmisconceptions about older employees.Maybe refresher training on carrying outeffective appraisals and performancemanagementOnce the policy has been shared withemployees, be prepared to answer theirquestions about the financial implicationsof flexible retirement or provideinformation on where they should go formore help – the sources of information at the end of this booklet should helpConsider appointing a member of staff or line manager as a ‘champion’. Thischampion should have your support and betrained to deal with the issues surroundingflexible retirement. It could be theirresponsibility to cascade this informationto others via in-house workshops orpresentationsSet up systems for monitoring the impactof your flexible retirement polices. Beingable to prove the business benefits of thepolicy will help dispel any concerns held by managersThe pension department should reviewinformation provided to employees on anongoing basis. In the run up to retirementconsider which information you want toprovide to employees – both generally andin responding to specific requests orqueries to help them in making decisionsabout their retirement.

Stanair Industrial Doors retain theirworkers well into their later years andcontinue to provide training andretraining as needed. This allows them tokeep and use their skills and providesthem with a tremendous bank ofknowledge and experience.



The retirement processThe age regulations introduced a number ofchanges including a default retirement age of65. Employers need to be aware this means it is unlawful to retire people below theemployer’s normal retirement age, or belowthe default retirement age of 65 unless thiscan be objectively justified.

However, it is not compulsory to have a fixedretirement age. Indeed, many businesses arebenefiting from adopting flexible approachesto retirement and are finding this works well,not only enabling them to retain knowledgeand experience, but allowing them to workout a retirement plan which is beneficial toboth the employee and the company.

The new regulations provide new procedureswhich are designed to allow employers andemployees to benefit from a longer notice ofretirement, meaning both parties will be ableto plan for the future more effectively.

The new processes only apply to retirement. If an employer wants to terminate anemployee’s service before the normal ordefault retirement age due to other reasons,the rules are the same for employees of all ages.

To prevent claims of unfair dismissal,employers must be able to demonstrate thatthey have a good reason for terminating anemployee’s service and must have evidence tosupport this if challenged – this should bepart of your normal dismissal procedures.Retirement will not be a fair reason fordismissal. Always check with ACAS or your HR or legal team beforedismissing staff

Understanding the newretirement proceduresIf you choose to implement a compulsoryretirement age within your organisation, therules are simple to follow. The following step-by-step guide is adapted from the ACASguide: ‘Age and the Workplace’www.acas.org.uk/media/pdf/r/j/Age_and_the_Workplace.pdf

Employer Step 1: If you intend to retire anemployee, you must inform the employee oftheir intended retirement date and that theyhave a right to request to work beyond thisdate. This must be in writing, no more thanone year, but no less than six months beforethe date (see Text: Example Letter 1).

If your employee has been properly notified of their retirement date (as above), they mustmake their request to continue working, inwriting, at least three months before theproposed retirement date. They must statewhether they wish to continue workingindefinitely; for a stated period or until acertain date.

Text: Example Letter 1:

I am writing to inform you that yourretirement date will be [insert date] and thatyou have a right to request not to be retired.

I will give careful consideration to anyrequest you may make to work beyond thisdate and will inform you if I cannot let you.I am not required by law to give a reason.

Your request not to be retired must bereturned to [person dealing with request]no later than three months before the datestated above. Failure to do this will meanthat you lose your statutory right to haveyour request considered and you will beretired on the retirement date shown above.

Name: ...............................…............................….[Block capitals]

Signature: …..................................................……

Date: ...........................................................………



Employer Step 2: If the employee is happywith the retirement date, you can retire theemployee on the fixed date. No further actionis required.

Employer Step 3: If your employee requeststo work beyond the retirement date, you mustconsider the request seriously. It is customaryto write to your employee and fix a date for ameeting to discuss the request (see Text:Example Letter 2).

Employer Step 4: If you accept the requestfor a new date and, if required, a new workingpattern, it is courtesy to write and confirm the changes (see Text: Example Letter 3). You then need to amend the contract ofemployment and note the next date (no morethan a year, but no less than six months) youneed to write to them to inform them of theirrevised retirement date. If the new retirementdate is less than a year away, send out a newletter immediately confirming the newlyagreed date.


I am writing to inform you that followingyour request not to be retired, there will be a meeting to discuss your request. The meeting will be held on [insert date] at [insert time] at [insert location].

You have a right to be accompanied at themeeting by a fellow worker or a tradeunion representative. Your companion maybe someone that you have chosen, butthey must work for [insert your companyname]. Your companion can address themeeting but not answer questions on yourbehalf, although you may confer during themeeting.

After the meeting, if it is decided tocontinue your employment beyond theintended retirement date of [insert originalretirement date] you will receive writtennotification reflecting these agreedchanges to your contract.

If no agreement is reached, you willreceive further notification confirmingyour intended retirement date andinforming you of your right to appeal.


Signature: …..................................................……

Date: ...........................................................………

Note: If you fail to notify the employeesix months in advance you will have anongoing duty to do so, up to two weeksbefore the intended retirement date.Failure to notify up to two weeks beforethe intended retirement date will makethe dismissal automatically unfair andthe employee will probably be liable forcompensation.



Employer Step 5: If, after meeting with youremployee and considering their request towork beyond the retirement date, you decideto reject their application, you must write tothem and tell them of the decision as soon asis reasonably possible, informing them of theirright to appeal the decision (see Text: ExampleLetter 4).

Employer Step 6: If the employee appealsagainst the decision, an appeal meetingshould be held as soon as is reasonablypossible.

If it’s not possible to hold an appeal meetingwithin a reasonable period, the employer canconsider the request without a meeting, aslong as the employee‘s case for continuing towork is taken into account.

An appeal can be made if:

• the employer refuses the request in itsentirety or

• the employer accepts it, but decides tocontinue employment for a shorter periodthan the employee requested.

Employer Step 7: If, after the appeal meeting you:

• decide you still wish to retire the employee,you must inform them in writing as soon asis reasonably practicable (see Text: ExampleLetter 5)

• decide not to retire the employee, youshould inform them in writing as soon aspossible (see Text: Example Letter 6).


I am writing to inform you that after ourmeeting held on [insert date] to discussyour appeal not to be retired, I/we haveconsidered your appeal and [insertcompany name] still intend to retire you on[insert original intended retirement date]as originally discussed.


Signature: …..................................................……

Date: ...........................................................………


I am writing to inform you that after ourmeeting held on [insert date] to discussyour request not to be retired, I/we haveconsidered your request and [companyname] still intends to retire you on [insertoriginal intended retirement date].

You have a right to appeal this decision. Ifyou wish to appeal you must inform [insertname] as soon as is reasonable. Failure to doso, or failure to agree a meeting date withina reasonable time period, may mean youlose the right to an appeal meeting. In thiscase, [insert company name] may consideryour appeal without holding a meeting,although they will consider any previousrepresentations that you have made.


Signature: …..................................................……

Date: ...........................................................………


I am writing to inform you that after ourmeeting on [insert date] to discuss yourrequest not to be retired, I/we haveconsidered your request and have decidedto extend your contract with [companyname] as agreed.

Your new terms and conditions [and workingpattern, if applicable] are outlined below.


Signature: …..................................................……

Date: ...........................................................………



Additionally: make sure all staff involved inmaking retirement decisions are fully aware ofthe new rules and of their responsibility totreat all candidates fairly and use objectivecriteria.

Put routines or practices in place to checkthat no bias, deliberate or intentional, hasinfluenced retirement decisions.

For more details on the new retirementregulations, visit www.acas.org.uk/media/pdf/r/j/Age_and_the_Workplace.pdf

East Dunbartonshire CouncilWho we areWe are a local authority in Scotland,responsible for an area to the North Westof Glasgow with a population of just over100,000. We employ more than 5,000staff.

What we doWe are committed to giving employeeswho are retiring every option to ensure assmooth a transition as possible from workto retirement. Our flexible approach toretirement can be summarised as: • all employees can retire at 65,

regardless of gender, status, hoursworked and length of service

• our staff can opt to work beyond 65 ifthey so wish; alternatively, in somecases employees can choose to retireearly with pension benefits from age 60

• we also recognise that some employeesmay not want to move straight fromwork to retirement in one step – weoffer options such reduced hoursleading up to retirement, and allowemployees to move to a different rolewith fewer hours or less responsibility

• we have a clear, written policy outliningguidance for managers and employeesto prepare for retirement

• all employees planning to retire have apre-retirement interview to discussarrangements, including handover ofwork, mentoring and appropriateretirement celebrations.

How it has benefited our business• older employees who aren’t ready to

retire continue to enjoy the social andfinancial benefits of working – thisshows that we value all our staff, of allages, which makes for a highlymotivated workforce

• staff who stay on beyond 65 have madea valuable contribution to theorganisation through their experienceand commitment.

Remember: If you use the ‘defaultretirement age of 65’ or a normalretirement age (NRA) of 65 or over, you will need to repeat this process each time an individual reachesretirement age or is (less than a year but over six months) from the agreedextended point for retirement.


I am writing to inform you that after ourmeeting held on [insert date] to discussyour appeal not to be retired, I/we haveconsidered your request and [insertcompany name] after further considerationhave agreed to extend your contract.

As agreed at the meeting, your new termsand conditions [working pattern, ifapplicable] are outlined below.


Signature: …..................................................……

Date: ...........................................................………



A changing workforce for employersFinally, as an employer you should be awarethat the UK labour market is changing. Thismay mean you have to radically re-think yourpolicies and practices and develop ways inwhich you can encourage your older workersto stay in work rather than leave. Currently,people aged 50+ represent:

• almost 30 per cent of people of workingage4 and

• Twenty-six per cent of those actually in work5.

And by 2020 there will be nearly five millionmore people aged 50+ in the UK.6 Bycomparison the number of workers under 35 isfalling with the fastest decreases amongst the18-24 age bracket. If, as an employer, you havetraditionally recruited from this age group, youwill need to look again at your policies.

The demographic changes mean that the needto take an age positive approach to retirementand pensions has never been more pressingand will become even more important overthe next 10-15 years.

Education is a highly qualified sector,employing 2.5 million people (8 per cent of thenational workforce) in 13,000 establishments.This sector has a high demand for new recruitsand levels of vacancies are high. It is predictedthat the sector will need an additional 1.14million employees by 2014 – equivalent to 46per cent of the current workforce7.

This may be why the National Association ofSchoolmasters Union of Women Teachers, whichis the largest union representing teachers andhead teachers throughout the UK, has alreadymade changes to their pension scheme.

Their changes include a ‘phased retirement’option to enable both existing and newscheme members aged 55 or over to drawpart of their accrued pension (actuariallyreduced if before NPA) and continue workingas a teacher within the Teachers PensionScheme8.

It is essential that all employers, of all sizes, in allsectors, take action now and get ready. It canonly be a benefit to be ahead of the competition.

Age Positive Retirement:answers to your questions1. What do the new age regulationssay about retirement?The regulations set a default retirement ageof 65 (to be reviewed in 2011). This meanscompulsory retirement below the age of 65 isunlawful unless you can satisfy the test ofobjective justification.

2. Does this mean it is compulsory toretire all staff at 65?No, although you cannot forcibly retire anyonebefore 65, it isn’t compulsory to have aretirement age – in fact many employers don’thave one. Employers can choose whether theyhave any retirement age at all – the law doesn’trequire it and in many cases it’s just an historicalrelic of the company’s previous policies andpractices that hasn’t been updated.

If you choose to use a fixed retirement ageyou will have new time-bound responsibilitiesto inform employees of their retirement dateand their ‘right to request’ to work beyond.However, if members of your staff choose toleave or retire prior to age 65, that is alsotheir choice, you cannot force them to remainin employment against their wishes.

3. Do I need to consult employees whoare 65 or over before retiring them?Yes, you must inform your employees aminimum of six or a maximum of 12 monthsbefore the date you plan to retire them,regardless of any previous discussion orreview.

4. Are there any changes, which will affect my employees?Yes, all employees will have the ‘right torequest’ to work beyond the defaultretirement age of 65 or any other retirementages set by you, and all employers will have a‘duty to consider’ requests to work longer. For more information on the process, go tohttp://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=1044

4 Government Actuary Population Projections, 2004.5 Labour Force Survey Dec-Feb 076 Government Actuary Population Projections, 2004.7 Managing an ageing workforce in the ‘education’ sector.

A report for employers available to view at www.agepositive.gov.uk8 Website address for further information www.nasuwt.org.uk/Templates/

Internal.asp?NodeID=72955&ParentNodeID=43089



5. What happens if I refuse to allowan employee to work past 65?If you correctly follow the procedures laiddown in regulations, you may rely on thedefault retirement age without the dismissalbeing regarded as unfair or agediscriminatory. However, if you do not followthe process the employee could challenge thedecision as unfair dismissal.

The regulations are not designed to force youto retain staff that are unsuitable, however, itis also not good business sense to dismissindividuals based solely on their age – in manycases retaining older workers can be mutuallybeneficial to both parties.

6. Is there anything else I need to doto make sure I act in accordance withthe new regulations?Review your practices now and make sureyou’re familiar with the guidance on theretirement process. Seek advice if you haveconcerns. If you don’t have access to yourown HR department or to independent legaladvice, ACAS is the nominated agency to giveadvice and guidance on age issues. Contacttheir Helpline on 0845 7474747 or go onlineat www.acas.org.uk

Good practice, help and information is alsoavailable on the Age Positive website atwww.agepositive.gov.uk or look at any of theother sources of help and information listed inthis leaflet.

Remember – if you discriminate and loseyour case, there is no limit on how much anemployment tribunal can ask you to pay.

Sources of additionalinformation General help and information

Age Positivewww.agepositive.gov.uk

ACAS08457 474 747www.acas.org.uk

Business Link0845 600 9 066www.businesslink.gov.uk

British Chambers of Commerce (BCC)020 7654 5800www.chamberonline.co.uk

Financial Services Authority0845 606 1234www.fsa.gov.uk

Directgov (Employment)www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/

Trades Union Congress (TUC)020 7636 4030www.tuc.org.uk

Confederation of British Industry (CBI)020 7395 7400www.cbi.org.uk

Chartered Institute of Personnel andDevelopment (CIPD)020 8612 6200www.cipd.co.uk

The Age and Employment Network (TAEN)020 7843 1590www.taen.org.uk

Federation of Small Businesses (FSB)020 7592 8100www.fsb.org.uk

National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF)www.napf.co.uk

The Pensions Regulator0870 6063636 (9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday)www.thepensionsregulator.gov.uk

OPAS, the Pensions Advisory Service0845 6012923 (for information and guidanceon any aspect of occupational or privatepension provision)www.opas.org.uk

Other Government sites

Department of Trade and Industry (DTI)www.dti.gov.uk

Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)www.dwp.gov.uk

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC)www.hmrc.gov.uk

The Pension Servicewww.thepensionservice.gov.uk


Copies of this publication can be downloaded from www.agepositive.gov.uk If you require further copies, please e-mail: [email protected]

Please quote ref: AP-Flexible Retirement and Retirement – VO72007© Crown Copyright 2007Produced for Age Positive, Department for Work and Pensions by Ipsos Mori.

Extracts from this document may be reproduced for non-commercial educationor training purposes on condition that the source is acknowledged.


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