100,000 older workers forced
to retire last year
conducted for Age Concern and Help the Aged earlier this year shows the use
of mandatory retirement ages soared during the recession, with over 100,000
people forced to retire on or after turning 65.
The
new survey reveals for the first time the full scale of the impact forced
retirement has had on the older workforce since the Default Retirement Age
(DRA) was introduced in 2006.
The
findings show that the number of people aged 65-plus forced to retire
increased massively last year to more than 100,000. The figure is four times
higher than the number the charity feared would be hit when the law was
introduced.
The
charity fears that the figures suggest that employers have used forced
retirement as a cheap and easy alternative to redundancy during the
recession. It points out that many more people in their 60s face the prospect
of forced retirement in the near future as half a million 60-plus older
workers (530,000) work for employers who use the DRA.
May 2010
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