Repeal of the DRA – important change to regulations

The default retirement age (DRA) is due to be abolished next month.  The government has today published new regulations on the transitional arrangements for the repeal of the DRA which dramatically change the previous transitional arrangements.

Under the original draft regulations laid before Parliament, an employee had to turn 65 between 6 April and 30 September 2011 in order for their retirement to be valid.  This was problematic for those employers who had already issued notification of intended retirement to employees who had already turned 65.

The new regulations remedy that situation and set out that the transitional arrangements will be as follows

• notification of retirement may be given, with between 6 and 12 months’ notice, before 6 April 2011
• the employee in question must have attained, or will attain, the age of 65 (or other normal retirement age) before 1 October 2011
• an extension of up to six months may be agreed through the ‘right to request’ procedure
• the last day on which an employee may make a request to continue working beyond the proposed retirement date is 4 January 2012
• so the last date for a retirement to take effect will be 5 October 2012 (assuming a 12 month notification from 5 April 2011 and then an agreed extension of 6 months).

Provided that the regulations receive Parliamentary approval (and it is likely that they will), they will come into force on 6 April 2011.

If you would like us to email you a full briefing note on the repeal of the DRA, and how to manage employees without a retirement age, please click here.