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Mandatory retirement ages are “illogical” and the Government should promote the role of older workers‚ according to a report by the chairs of an influential all-party group.

‘Older Workers and Incapacity Benefit Reform’ is a report by the chairs of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Ageing and Older People. It said: “It is wholly illogical to continue to have mandatory retirement ages when the Government’s avowed policy is to encourage people to work longer before drawing their pension.” The under-employment of older people costs the UK economy £29 billion each year.

Following the appearance of witnesses including older people‚ project leaders of schemes for older job seekers and the Minister for Employment and Welfare Reform‚ Jim Murphy MP‚ the Inquiry noted that while there are 1.5 million extra older people in work compared to 1997‚ there are still 1 million older people who want to be in work. It called on the Government to promote the role and value of older workers for employers.

The report‚ from one of the largest independent cross party groups in Parliament‚ also focused on the need for the attitude of employers needs to shift. Speaking to the Inquiry‚ the Minister acknowledged that employers’ attitudes towards older workers do need to change. He said: “There is no easy solution to this problem… It is difficult to know why employers do not choose to employ older workers‚ it is perhaps because the perception is that the benefit of training older workers would not be realised or that since older workers are less likely to have formal qualifications than their younger counterparts‚ it is easy to overlook other skills which might make them suitable for work.”

Particular concern was the risk to older people from an ethnic minority background. For example 82% of older‚ low-skilled Pakistanis and Bangladeshis are in workless households.

In the report‚ Eddie O'Hara MP‚ Nigel Waterson MP and Paul Burstow MP‚ the chairs of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Ageing and Older People suggest:

• It is wholly illogical to continue to have mandatory retirement ages when the Government’s avowed policy is to encourage people to work longer before drawing their pension. The Government should reconsider this position.
• The Government should promote the role of older workers within the labour market by highlighting the benefits of employing older workers and encouraging employers to adopt flexible working practices which encourage older workers to engage in the labour market.
• The Government should carry out further research into the multiple disadvantages experienced by older women‚ older carers and older people from black and minority ethnic communities. More intensive support should be offered to these groups to enable them to overcome multiple obstacles to employment.
• That the Learning and Skills Council move to a model based on regular access to learning throughout working lives and that discriminatory age bars in relation to skills training at all levels are removed.
• That the Government should design services to meet the particular needs of older workers – whether those services are delivered to people of all ages or are specifically targeted towards people over 50 years old.
• In the light of the planned rise in state pension age‚ the Government should urgently focus on employment support for older workers since the UK economy will come to rely on its older workforce for economic stability.

Eddie O'Hara MP‚ the Labour chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Ageing and Older People‚ comments: 

"Older workers are too often excluded from the Labour market when they still have much to offer.  The loss is not just to themselves‚ serious though this is‚ but to the whole economy‚ to the tune of £29 billion per annum. I urge the Government to take the measures which our Group recommends to reverse this situation."

Notes for editors

• The All Party Group on Ageing and Older People‚ which has over 200 members‚ was set up nearly 30 years ago
• Age Concern assisted the All Party Group on Ageing and Older People in the preparation of this report
• Downloaded the full report from the top right of this screen

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