§ Baroness Noakesasked Her Majesty's Government: Whether they agree with research conducted for Saga which showed that the proportion of people working past statutory retirement age will rise to 13 per cent by 2020. [HL10]
§ Baroness Hollis of HeighamThere is no statutory retirement age, only a state pension age. This is the date from which a person can receive state pension, regardless of whether they have retired or remain in work.
We are committed to extending choice and opportunities for older workers, and to introducing age discrimination legislation. In addition, we are promoting employment among those aged 50 and over and helping people over pensionable age to remain in work where they wish to do so. Our Age Positive Campaign is encouraging employers to adopt non-ageist employment practises, and studies show that there has already been a marked reduction in the number of companies using age in recruitment.
The Department for Work and Pensions does not produce projections of future levels of employment; however, recent reseach by the department shows that a fifth (33 per cent of women and 10 per cent of men) of the workforce aged 50 and over plan to continue working beyond state pension age. The report of this research, Factors Affecting the Labour Market Participation of Older People, was published in November and a copy is available in the Library.
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