Retirement Policy & Procedure (No Compulsory Retirement Age)

The law in relation to Retirement is changing.

As from the 6 April 2011, the Default Retirement Age (DRA) of 65 is being phased out. From that date, no new notifications using the Default Retirement Age process can be issued. Furthermore, there will be no set retirement age and employees will be free to choose when they retire.

During the transitional period between 6 April 2011 and 1 October 2011, the Default Retirement Age process remains in place only in circumstances where:

• the employee was notified of the intended retirement date before 6 April 2011; and
• the employee will reach the age of 65 (or the normal company retirement age if higher) before 1 October 2011.

This Retirement Policy (No Compulsory Retirement Age) template complies with the changes introduced by The Employment Equality (Repeal of the Retirement Age Provisions) Regulations 2011 and shall be used by employers that do not operate a Compulsory Retirement Age so that employees can voluntarily retire when they wish.

This Policy is in Microsoft Word format, written in plain English, easy to use and edit.

Please Note that notwithstanding these changes to the law, an employer may be permitted to have a Default Retirement Age if it can be objectively justified, i.e. that it is to further a legitimate aim of the business and that the actions to achieve the aim are justified. However, the test of objective justification is not an easy one to pass and employers that wish to have in place a Compulsory Retirement Age can find themselves open to possible employment tribunal claims based on age discrimination.

For a Retirement Policy with a Compulsory Retirement Age please see Retirement Policy (Compulsory Retirement Age)