Compulsory retirement should be scrapped

I WISH to draw attention to the utter heartbreak experienced by thousands of fit and healthy people who wish to continue working after 65.

I strongly believe no one should be denied the opportunity to work if they so wish, and the current situation in which experienced workers are forced to retire at 65 can only be described as age discrimination. With the economy as buoyant as it is, the unemployment rate offers no argument for this discrimination.

My June 2006 policy document entitled ‘A New Approach to Ageing and Ageism’, calls for pension age employees to be subject to the same assessment of competence, ability and good health that is used by employers for younger workers.