Retirement

More employees will continue working into their old age, despite yesterday's decision by the European Court of Justice in support of compulsory retirement at age 65, according to Watson Wyatt.

Forced retirement at 65 can be justified under European law only if it is a "proportionate" means of achieving a legitimate employment policy, European judges have ruled.

About 2.2m workers aged 45 and over will postpone retirement from 2009 to 2012 due to the fall in their investments and recession, Prudential says.

Sir Fred Goodwin might leave Britain to escape the escalating row over his £703,000-a-year pension.

Scottish Life, the pensions arm of the Royal London Group has rolled out an improved support structure for IFAs based in Northern Island.

Skandia's sales of unit trusts and mutual funds in the UK and offshore fell by a quarter over the year to £1.715bn from £2.275bn.

Half of Brits approaching retirement have no plans to seek advice on their annuity purchase, according to MetLife.

Falling markets have left some investments in defined contribution schemes worth less than the cash contributions made into them, PricewaterhouseCoopers says.

Financial advisers are well placed to advise corporate clients on ways of improving outcomes for defined benefit schemes at risk of entering the Pension Protection Fund (PPF), according to the Occupational Pensions Trust (OPT).

Life Trust has closed its Ireland-based insurance arm, Life Trust Insurance (LTI) plc, due to concerns over continued funding.