This guide provides information on how the age provisions of the Equality Act 2010 apply to retirement and covers topics such as normal retirement ages and an employer’s need to objectively justify them, the right to retire and early voluntary retirement. 

On 6 April 2011 the set of rules about retirement ages and the retirement process introduced under the Age Regulations in 2006 were abolished, meaning there is now no default retirement age of 65.  However the old rules still apply if an employer had served notice of an intention to retire an employee before 6 April 2011. The Guide therefore also covers the old law as it is still relevant  in those cases.