With an aging population and reduced birth rate we are set to have serious problems paying to keep our old people safe and well!
It’s not a question of if we need to raise the age of the UK’s mandatory retirement age, but when and by how much we raise it?
Or maybe a better question is should we even have a mandatory retirement age at all? Isn’t this age discrimination?
Currently the UK mandatory retirement age is set at 60 years of age for women and 65 years of age for men.
We also have sex discrimination as well, both men and women should be treated equally!
Retirement age review brought forward
The government planned to have a retirement age review in 2011, but have brought the date forward to 2010 in response to “changing demographic and economic circumstances.”.
Pensions minister Angela Eagle said most people retired before 65, but 1.3 million chose to work beyond state pension age and many more said they would work past 65 if their employer permitted it.
David
Many people reach 60/65 years of age and they have had enough of working, and are in a position to retire comfortably. However, there are many who need to work to build up their finances to live on for what might be another 20+ years of life, once they have retired, and those who want to continue working just because they want to continue working.
Removing someone from a job just because they are 60/65 years old is age discrimination and should be illegal. It is the same as firing someone because they are female/disabled/Muslim or whatever, it’s an arbitrary rule that does nobody any favors at all.
With an ageing population we will need older workers to do jobs and to train younger workers to do jobs. There are health benefits for older people who keep active, the NHS might find it spends less on care for older people who remain in work.
There are benefits for society as a whole when older people work and are active in the community.
The compulsory retirement age is telling people that, once they hit 60/65, they are useless.
The CBI has a problem with employing older workers because they tend to have more experience, and therefore cost more, than their younger counterparts. But a great deal of knowledge and experience goes out the door every time someone is forced out because of their age, and that cannot be replaced.
We need to develop something that allows older workers to continue working, assuming they are fit enough to do so and want to do so, while allowing those who want to retire, to retire.
Otherwise we continue to demonize the older generation as useless and a drain on our society, which is not the case.
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