Don’t retire – work until you’re 80, urges minister

Equalities Minister Harriet Harman has announced a sure-fire vote loser by proposing everyone in the UK should work until they drop - or to at least aged 80 - rather than retire.

She claims changing retirement laws is necessary to challenge the idea that workers were past it when they reached 65 years old.

Of course, this proposal has nothing to do with the pension-funding crisis by allowing people to contribute more for longer.

Ms Harman has announced a “fast-track” government review of the retirement.

Under her proposals, workers would not have to work beyond 65, but would have the option to do so. Employees would have a legal right to a request to work part-time or from home.

If approved, the change would apply retrospectively, covering anyone who has signed a contract saying they will retire at 65. Currently, 1.4 million people still working who have reached state pension age - that is 60 for women and 65 for men.

This move is one more nail in the coffin for UK pensions - and one of the best ways of taking control of your own retirement is looking at a QROPS pension if you are an expat or overseas worker with UK pension rights.

Talk to QROPS Adviser to find out if this is a suitable option for you.

Ms Harman said: “People are remaining active and healthy well into their older years. But there is no legal backing for you at the moment if you want to stay at work, so what we are proposing is a massive public policy change. The retirement age is arbitrary. It bears no relation to people’s ability. Think of people running their own business: they don’t shut up shop suddenly when they reach the age of 65.”

Many business leaders believe that a “cut-off” point for retirement should remain and are wary of further flexibility in employee rights. Some businesses, like the Nationwide Building Society, let people work until the age of 75.

Keith Frost, of the Age and Employment Network, said that the default retirement age for workers should be scrapped. “It should be about what they contribute, not about the fact that they’ve just had a significant birthday, which makes them surplus to requirements,” he said.