Forties People

People in 50-plus jobs have been advised that any decisions regarding the default retirement age will be made later this year.

The government has recently suggested that the policy could be scrapped, with Harriet Harman telling the Daily Mail that the default retirement age is an "arbitrary" figure that does not reflect people's actual abilities.

So far, mixed views regarding the future of the default retirement age have been expressed by the business community, with some bodies advocating raising the threshold and others saying the rules do not need to be changed.

However, employment relations minister Lord Young has confirmed that a decision on the policy will not be made immediately, Personnel Today reports.

"We will look at the weight of evidence and make a decision in the summer," he confirmed.

The government is currently carrying out a review of the default retirement age, which includes a survey on business practices in relation to the age of staff.