South Lanarkshire retirement age is scrapped

Jun 22 2011 by Douglas Dickie, Rutherglen Reformer

COUNCIL workers in Rutherglen and Cambuslang will be able to work for as long as they want after the retirement age was scrapped.

Councillors agreed at a Corporate Resources Committee to remove the default age of 70 and allow employees to keep working for as long as they feel able.

New legislation from the Government being brought into effect on October 1 will place the onus on employers to prove “objective justification,” in making someone take compulsorily retirement.

The new arrangements in South Lanarkshire will come into effect straight away.

Previously, the council had a revised retirement age of 70, with those wishing to work beyond their 70th birthday able to do so with permission from their line manager.

Head of corporate resources, Robert McIlwain, told councillors that allowing staff to keep working past retirement age had “proved a successful approach, enabling the council to retain essential skills and experience within the workforce whilst allowing employees the opportunity to remain in employment and continue making a valuable contribution within the workplace.”

Only 155 employees at South Lanarkshire Council are over the age of 65, less than one per cent of the workforce, with the vast majority continuing to access their pension benefits at that age.

The council will continue to operate their flexible retirement policy, allowing employees the opportunity to ease into retirement by reducing their working hours and accessing their occupational pension fund at the age of 60.