Nationwide lets staff work to 75

Nationwide staff can now delay their retirement even longer

Workers at Nationwide can now delay their retirement until they are 75, the building society has said.

The move comes ahead of new rules next year under which workers can ask to delay their retirement to beyond 65.

The society first introduced flexible retirement in 2001, when it allowed its older employees to work until 70.

"We have found that older employees help increase the level of satisfaction among our customers," said Nationwide's Jeremy del Strother.

"We also know that some employees wish to continue working beyond the normal retirement age, so have enhanced our policies to support those employees, giving them more choice over when they want to retire."

Nationwide said that those staff who wanted to carry on working would be allowed to stay in their existing job.

'Opportunity, not threat'

New regulations being introduced in autumn 2006 as part of the European Employment Directive will allow staff be able to ask to postpone their retirement until after the age of 65.

However, employers will have the right to refuse the request.

TUC general secretary Brendan Barber welcomed the announcement by Nationwide.

"I hope other businesses start to follow Nationwide's lead and begin to see the forthcoming age equality regulations as an opportunity, not a threat," he said.

About 12% of Nationwide's employees are aged over 50, and just over 1% are above 60.

A number of major firms, such as B&Q, Marks & Spencer and Asda, employ elderly people.

Asda is one of the biggest employers of elderly workers in the UK. It currently employs more than 25,000 staff aged over 50 out of a workforce of 143,000.