Any attempt to reopen the debate on the scrapping of the default retirement age (DRA) is “backward looking and unhelpful”, according to Chris Ball – chief executive of TAEN – The Age and Employment Network, and Michelle Mitchell, charity director of Age UK.

John Cridland, CBI director-general designate, said this week that in certain jobs, especially physically demanding ones, working beyond 65 is not going to be possible for everyone.

Cridland said: “The DRA has helped staff think about when it is right to retire, and has also enabled employers to plan more confidently for the future.

“With the scrapping of the DRA in April, a legislative void is opening up. We need to modernise our employment law framework to ensure that it is fit for purpose.

“In the majority of cases this will not be an issue, but in a minority it will be a serious problem for all concerned.

“The government needs to act fast, and there should be no changes to the retirement framework until these issues are resolved.”

But Ball and Mitchell hit back saying: “The CBI’s attempt to reopen the issue of the DRA is unhelpful and backward-looking. The simple fact is that this is a wasteful provision that forces people to stop working when they are ready and able to continue. Moreover, most employers have shown that they don’t really need it.

“The CBI’s concerns about the diminishing work capacity of people doing heavy manual work is sometimes valid but it is a mistake to imagine that the only answer is in compelling people to leave the workplace when there are other jobs they could well do. Very often, they are the people who need to work longer because they don’t have sufficient savings or pension arrangements.

“It is particularly important that employers and government address this challenge of supporting people to work longer in practical ways, by encouraging retraining and redirecting careers, for example. The sensible employer who values the skills and talents of older workers will be looking for ways of keeping these employees by making adjustments to their work and working conditions.

“Keeping an unfair and outdated legislation in place for one more year is not the answer; swift action by the government to provide businesses with the support they need is. There are many countries which manage perfectly well without a legal right to retire people, so why is the UK different?”