This is taken from Ariel, w/c 13/2/06:

CARRY ON WORKING TO 65, AND MAYBE BEYOND THAT
by Andrew Harvey

Never mind retiring at 65, how about 66 or 67? Even before the BBC confirmed last week that it was raising the retirement age for all staff to 65 from next October, the government was saying that it was 'inevitable' that the state retirement age would have to rise within the next 15 years.

Indeed, a fixed retirement age might even be abandoned, allowing people to work for as long as they wish. This has all come about because of two parallel factors. First, the EU, in a move against age discrimination, has outlawed the practice of companies making their employees retire earlier than the national retirement age. That was what triggered the announcement by Stephen Dando, director of people, that everyone at the BBC would be entitled to carry on working to 65. Second, the looming crisis in the pensions business caused by people living longer and thus taking more money out of the system than had been expected - coupled with a diminishing number of working people paying in and a reduced level of pension fund income from investments.

The BBC has been at pains to separate its retirement announcement from speculation about the health of its pension scheme, but at a national level the two are closely linked. Speaking at an event organised by the Work Foundation, the work and pensions secretary John Hutton said that increasing the national retirement age to take account of people's longevity had to be accompanied by greater personal savings. He did not specify what the new retirement age might be but he said that unless the age limit was raised by 2020 the consequence would be to 'pass a greater burden on to future generations'. He noted the 'unprecedented demographic change' and said there would soon be more people over 80 than under five. He is to launch an initiative to encourage people to save for their old age.

At the BBC, there will be no immediate change in pension arrangements as a result of the higher retirement age. Everyone will be able to choose between retiring at 60 and drawing a pension or to continue working and contributing to their pension fund. On reaching 65, every employee will be entitled to request to continue working although this will be at the BBC's discretion. It is unlikely that anyone reaching 60 before October will be given the option of staying on. An HR spokesman said that the departure of the small number affected had already been taken into account when calculating divisional job cuts.