The UK's
enforceable retirement age of 65 is not in breach of EU legislation, according
to a ruling by the European Court of Justice (ECJ).
The case
was brought by Age Concern, which wanted to know whether it was legal for UK
employers to force workers to retire at the age of 65.
But the
ECJ said the practice was legal if it had a legitimate aim related to
employment and social policy.
It said
the High Court in London had to decide if the age limit was justified.
As the
law stands, a British employer can dismiss a member of staff without redundancy
payments on that person's 65th birthday.
Age
Concern maintained that this was in breach of the EU's Equal Treatment at Work
Directive and said one in eight MPs would be out of a job immediately if the
rule applied to them.
The
Conservatives and Liberal Democrats had supported the case, which was also
backed by Help the Aged.
The
government points out that existing employment equality regulations do give
employees the right to formally request to carry on working beyond 65.
It says
the existing law will be re-examined, and could be relaxed further, in 2011.
'Disappointment'
The
European judges said that the enforceable retirement age could remain if it had
a "legitimate aim" linked to social or employment policy.
The High
Court, which sent the case to the ECJ for clarification on the law, will now
have to decide whether the aims of the government's retirement age of 65 were
"legitimate".