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The trouble with late retirement
Page 30
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I WAS MOST interested to read about the implications of working on after the age of 65 in road transport (CM 2 June), but really, some of the most fundamental points about this situation are being overlooked, especially by politicians.
Insurance is the key issue affecting all matters relating to employment in the transport industry.
Just as insurers discriminate against the young and inexperienced, the same principles apply to older people ie those over 65, which is the present state retirement age in the UK.
I have been, in the past, employed as a driver, and the contract of employment stated clearly "employment would cease automatically on attaining age 65".
Later, working on my own account as a subcontractor I recall one of the traffic clerks in the office I dealt with, who wanted to carry on working for an extra year or two. The insurers immediately imposed a ban on him driving any of the fleet's vehicles, including a private car on business journeys simply because he was over 65.
For a regular driver this ban might also extend to the employer's liability insurance,thus making it impossible to carry on working.
The real problem, of course, in transport is the driver shortage caused by lack of training in the past, coupled with the crisis in UK pension provision, both state and private.
S David (retired) Transports Sylvan Leeds