We have an employee who wishes to defer his retirement. We have had several meetings and have agreed that he can continue working for another year.

Under the Age Regulations, we know we have to continue offering the benefits our employee has already enjoyed to avoid discrimination.
As part of our benefits package we offer Life Assurance (4 x salary) and Private Medical Insurance.

Our insurance broker has already advised that due to a medical problem (which is not serious) our current insurers (who we have a Group policy with) will not insure our employee after the age of 65 and we are now looking at an individual life assurance policy for him. In terms of the medical insurance, we already know that the premium for this employee will double when he reaches 65. However, we suspect that our medical insurance for our employee will be subject to Underwriters approval once he reaches 65 and, like the life cover insurance, they too may refuse to insure him. How do we stand as a company if insurance companies won’t provide cover for our employee for any of these benefits? Has anyone come across this before? How did you resolve it under the Age Regulations?

Thanks in advance for any responses.

Dawn Durkin