On 1st October 2011 compulsory retirement was abolished, with employers no longer able to force mandatory retirement at 65.   Employees can now work beyond this age if they wish without being forced into retirement.

Although the charity Age UK have welcomed the change in legislation they still believe that age discrimination is prevalent in the workplace.

This is backed up by research  from law firm Norton Rose who suggest that one in 10 firms plan to offer financial incentives to encourage workers to move on at a certain age.

This change in legislation certainly seems to catch up with the increase in longevity of the population but there is also another reason, that hasn’t really been mentioned. With many people either not saving at or all or simply not enough, they may find that they simply cannot afford to stop working.

A report by HSBC earlier this year found that only 39% of people have a financial plan in place to save for retirement with 21% still aiming to rely only on the State to provide them a pension.

It seems that the legislation may not just be about age discrimination, but also about paving the way for people to continue to keep the heads above water as they move into their twilight years.