Three
quarters of UK staff want the freedom to choose when they retire, according to
research released today.
The
survey by the Employers Forum on Age shows that many employees want mandatory retirement
abolished in favour of a graduated system that depends on the type of job
performed.
Many
employees worry that under the current rules of retirement at 65 they simply
won’t be able to afford old age, claims the research. A set retirement age also
encourages age discrimination in recruitment and promotion.
Sam
Mercer, campaign director of the Employers Forum on Age, said, “If we are to
employ the talents of the UK workforce effectively, then the current concept of
retirement needs a radical overhaul.”
However,
there were contradictions in the survey’s results. A third felt that policemen
should be forced to retire by the age of 55 and more than half believed that
politicians and judges should be forced to retire by the time they reach 60.
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