Late retirement on the cards at Merrill

It used to be only public sector workers who complained about ever more distant retirement ages. Now it looks like bankers at Merrill Lynch have reason to join the fray.

According to press reports, Merrill is planning to force its employees to work for longer, and to retire later if they want to be able to cash-in on the shares the bank granted to them.

Investment and Pensions Europe quotes the bank's filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as saying: "...To fulfill the objective of retaining high quality personnel, future stocks grants should contain more stringent provisions that include a combination of increased age and length of service requirements for employees to be eligible to retire from Merrill Lynch while their stock awards continue to vest..."

Merrill didn't return calls for comment on the issue. But a compensation consultant at a big four accountancy firm predicts the new provisions will prove an issue for bankers in their 50s: "It looks like Merrill Lynch are toughening up retirement provisions. In the past, its people may have been able to vest all their stock immediately when they retired. From now on, that option may only be open to those aged 55 or 60 and above."