The government's Equality Bill could outlaw savings accounts aimed at over 50s, the Building Societies Association (BSA) has warned.

The bill, due to have its second reading in the Commons on Monday, could prevent banks and building societies from offering savings accounts aimed specifically for older customers as it could be considered age discrimination.

But this would be the worst possible time to scrap these products, which often offer higher interest rates than other accounts, the BSA said.

The Building Societies Association (BSA) has called on the government to ensure that savings accounts aimed specifically at older people are not outlawed under the equality bill.

In a statement, the organisation said that with interest rates at historically low levels, savers - and especially pensioners - have seen the returns on their deposits "diminish sharply", making it the "worst possible time" to put so-called silver saver accounts in jeopardy.

Millions of over-50s could be worse off through new equality rules which threaten to outlaw special savings accounts that give preferential rates to older people, warn finance experts.

The Government's new Equality Bill could make popular 'silver saver' accounts a thing of the past as they offer far better interest rates than standard accounts.

According to Saga, who provide products for older people, this could be a 'real possibility' if the Bill comes into force and they estimate their savers would have lost an average of £200 each last if the accounts were scrapped.

Some people just don't get it, do they? They fulminate against a new and elaborate government Bill, almost as a knee-jerk reaction. They rage against proposals that, in the calm light of day, taken one by one, they would endorse. They use short-sighted criticism as a means to offload all the bile swilling around the other issues of government — fiscal and monetary, business and investment.
Yes, there is lots to be bewildered about, to be angry about, and we need fall guys and scapegoats to make us feel better. But why dump on those very people who are having the hardest time: the disabled, working mothers, the old, the retired, those who by their sexuality or ethnicity are unfairly treated? These people are at last being given a break in a massive piece of government legislation: the new Equality Bill. To attack the Bill is implicitly to attack them and any claims that they might have to be treated fairly in our supposedly just society.

The EU's working age population will peak next year before tipping into decline for half a century
 
This will cause a relentless rise in pension and health costs that risk asphyxiating the region's economy.
A new report by the European Commission said this financial crisis could turn into a "permanent shock to growth" from which Europe never fully recovers unless it moves fast to bring its public debts under control.

Age campaigners - and Personnel Today - are disappointed that the Equality Bill didn't include any measures to committing to scrapping the default retirement age before the current review date of 2011.

EFA chief Catharine Pusey said: "Today, with people living longer than ever before, the current rationale for continuing to enforce a default retirement age when people reach 65 is completely archaic. Every year thousands of people over 65 make huge contributions to the UK's economy and heritage, yet despite being capable of continuing in work, many more individuals are involuntarily retired at 65." 

The Employers Forum on Age had hoped that the Civil Service's decision to remove the discriminatory practice of being able to insist their employees retire at 65, would have focused the government's mind.

n the February case of Roberts v Aegon UK Corporate Services Ltd, the Employment Appeal Tribunal confirmed that a tribunal is entitled to differentiate between a final salary pension scheme and a money purchase scheme when awarding compensation to an unfairly dismissed employee.
Wragge & Co's pensions experts provide detailed analysis and comment on this judgment.

By Deborah Hyde - 04 March 2009

One in four Britons are afraid they may never be able to afford to retire and more than 2 million are delaying their retirement in 2009 due to the global downturn and the falling value of their investments.

Around 2.2 million UK adults said they are delaying their retirement in 2009 with a quarter of them saying they might have to delay their plans until 2012 or beyond.

An even higher number – two in five – do not expect to be able to retire until 2012 or later.

Nearly one in three of those actually able to retire in 2009 are public sector workers, even though they make up just one in five people in the UK workforce. The remaining 2009 retirees will be split 35% from private sector jobs and 15% from self employed roles, with the remainder coming from those who are unemployed or in other sectors, according to the Prudential 'Class of 2009' retirement survey.

It is destined to be one of the hit films of the year and has become the first animated movie ever chosen to launch the Cannes festival.

But the next cartoon from the Disney's Pixar studio, called Up, has already been given the thumbs down by investors and toy manufacturers because its main character, a grumpy 78-year-old man, is not considered commercially attractive.
The reaction has prompted accusations of ageism at the heart of the multi-billion-pound promotions industry that surrounds films aimed at children

Asda is to start marketing towards Britain's ageing population by selling walking sticks, wheelchairs and other mobility aids.

Campaigners have renewed calls for a £3 billion investment to end child poverty as research put Britain near the bottom of a league table of European youngsters' well-being. Skip related content

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Research put Britain near bottom of league table of European youngsters' well-being
High numbers of youngsters in workless families, poor local environments and the low numbers in education or training helped leave the UK trailing 24th out of 27 nations.