LONDON, Sept. 25 (UPI) -- Britain's mandatory retirement age of 65 remains under fire despite a judge's ruling Friday allowing it for now.
While High Court Justice Nicholas Blake rejected a challenge by charities for the elderly, he said he did so only because the government has said it will review the compulsory retirement issue, The Times of London reported.
"I cannot presently see how 65 could remain as a DRA (default retirement age)," Blake said.
He noted the "very substantial weight" of the arguments put forward by Age Concern and Help the Aged, two charities that took the issue to court with the Equality and Human Rights Commission.
"The judge has sent out a strong signal that it is only a matter of time before the default retirement age of 65 is removed and we will consider what action we could take next," said John Wadham, legal group director of the Equality and Human Rights Commission. "The government's promised review has already been brought forward from 2011 to 2010. It could act sooner to strike the default retirement age out of the rule books, using the equality bill (pending in Parliament)."
Andrew Harrop, head of public policy at Age Concern and Help the Aged, told The Guardian the need for people to work later in life is particularly acute in today's economy.
"The need to work beyond 65 is particularly acute at a time when economic turmoil means many people have seen the value of their pensions and savings fall rapidly," Harrop said.
