Forced retirement costs UK £3.5bn

Posted in General

29th April 2010

The default retirement age is costing the UK economy £3.5bn every year – and £2bn of that is in the form of lost earnings for employees.

These are the findings of Age UK, who indicate that 120,000 older people were forced out of work in 2009, leaving many to consider their financial options, one of which is an equity release scheme.

Age UK is calling for all the political parties to pledge to abolish the default retirement age ahead of the election. Currently, only the Liberal Democrats have promised this, with Labour and the Conservatives preferring to change the age.

In the meantime, older people forced into retirement will need to cover that £2bn in lost earnings and many may opt to release equity from their home in the form of a lifetime drawdown mortgage or a home reversion plan.

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