Many people in the United Kingdom are unaware of the impact that the Age Discrimination Act will have on their working lives, according to a study by Poole, England-based specialist over-50s insurer Castle Cover.
More than two-thirds of the 1,000 surveyed had never heard of the legislation, the study revealed.
Most of those surveyed65%said they intended to retire at age 65. Of the 35% of respondents who said they would wish to continue working, most said their desire to stay in employment was for the social nature of the workplace and job satisfaction.
According to a factsheet produced by Castle Cover, the new law, among other things: requires employers who set their retirement age below the default age of 65 to justify or change it; requires employers to consider an employee's request to continue working beyond retirementand not unreasonably refuse that request; requires employers to inform employees in writing, at least six months in advance, of their intended retirement date; and will remove the upper age limitpreviously 65 years of agefor unfair dismissal and redundancy rights.