Focus on potential, skills and ability
...not age
Related information
Retirement age? Who needs one!
There is no official retirement age in the UK. Age regulations introduced a default retirement age of 65 but this is not mandatory. Employers do not need to set a retirement age at all. With no requirement for a retirement age, many employers are taking advantage of this to keep experienced skilled workers.
Case Studies
Aberdeen City Council
Offering flexible retirement options
Aberdeen Council's 'age-neutral' policy was introduced to help the organisation prepare for demographic change and meet current and future business needs. The organisation has a strong commitment to equality and diversity and it has always taken a positive approach to older people, valuing ability rather than age.
The job of the age-neutral policy is to widen the Council's pool of potential job applicants, as well as helping it retain highly skilled and experienced staff. This is considered vital as it experiences recruitment difficulties and skills shortages for some of its roles.
The Council removed its previous age limit on recruitment, which means that individuals aged 65 and over are eligible to apply for its vacancies.
Employees approaching the usual retirement age have the option of extending their employment. This has already been taken up by a number of employees across a diverse range of occupations.
The Council is also finding that their flexible approach to retirement is useful in recruiting new staff. It is heavily promoted in its recruitment literature and at careers events.
As well as widening the pool of potential pool of job applicants and retaining highly skilled and experienced staff, the organisation also believes that its age-neutral policy creates a positive image of the organisation, positioning it as an employer of choice.
The business benefits for Aberdeen Council of having an age diverse workforce:
- Preparing for demographic change at an early stage
- Helped to meet current and future business needs
- Widening pool of potential job applicants
- Helping it retain highly skilled and experienced staff who would otherwise have had to retire
- Mitigating against recruitment difficulties and skills shortages
- Creating a positive image of the organisation as an employer
- Staff appointed on merit alone so a good skills/experience match is achieved.