Age discrimination, the default retirement age and occupational pensions: Experiences from Canada and predictions for Britain

On 1st October 2006, the Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006 come into force. Expectations of older workers will be dampened however with the inclusion of a “default retirement age”, entitling employers to retire workers aged 65 or over, without justification. A major reason given for this exemption is to preserve the stability of occupational pension schemes. In Canada, a challenge to a similar retirement exemption failed in the Supreme Court. The reason was based, in part, on the need to preserve the stability of pensions. This paper argues that the Canadian experience can be distinguished and that default retirement age in the British legislation is questionable under European law and is not necessary to preserve the stability of pension schemes.