Government pension provisions delayed
The pension-related features of the government's new age discrimination legislation have been delayed by two months to December 1st 2006, it has been announced.
Employment Equality (Age) Regulations, originally due to come into effect at the start of October, includes legislation against age discrimination deemed unjustifiable in vocational training and pay, in addition to pensions.
James Purnell, minister for pensions reform, explained the reason for the two-month delay.
"We have listened carefully to the concerns voiced by employers and decided to hold off on implementing the pensions aspects of the legislation to allow more time for the industry to get to grips with the changes," he said.
"During the intervening time we shall be running an informal consultation in which we will investigate whether any amendments should be made to the current regulations," he added.
According to the legislation, trustees would have to ensure that scheme policies relating to early retirement, contribution rates and other clauses will no longer be able to discriminate by age, unless it accords to a listed justifiable exception.
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