The shape of things to come?

Feb 11 2005 by Brian Amble Print This Article

Gareth Huw Davies in the Times on how some of Britain's public-sector bodies are beginning to realise that forcing people retire at an arbitrary age is wasteful.

"Ann Stamper, gallery assistant at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, is one of the oldest employees in the public sector. She took the job when she was 68. Now 71, she still has no idea when she will quit because her employer has taken the radical step of abolishing the retirement age.

. . . .Retirement for Stamper and her gallery colleague Maurice Spencer - who is also 71 and has worked full-time at the museum since he was 60 - will come when they wish it or when their performance declines, as measured by annual assessments. Otherwise, the museum will put no pressure on them to go."

The Times | Far too young to become a museum piece