Reviewing the traditional mandatory retirement age of 65 is low on Government's list of priorities - but could become a high priority in the next few years, Finance Minister Eugene Cox said yesterday.

But Bermuda Industrial Union President Derrick Burgess warned that major employers will have to look closely at the ramifications of current employment policies in preparation for an uncertain future, overshadowed by the threat of what some have termed "an ageing recession".

The comments came after an international panel said this week that the shortage of younger workers supporting older people in their retirement in the world's developed nations may prove to be an "economic time bomb" that could only be defused by overhauling pension schemes and expanding employment opportunities.

According to the Associated Press, the Commission on Global Ageing suggested nations would need to take "urgent corrective actions in order to avert more painful consequences later on".

Asked about raising the retirement age, Mr. Cox emphasised it was not high on Government's current list of priorities, but said: "It could become a high priority later on."

Mr. Burgess said Government should look at conducting a review of how current ageing trends will affect the Island's economy years down the line.

"What has not been done is a real study of sustainable development in terms of people in the workplace. We need to look at where we are going to be in 2010.

"We have to be very careful. We don't know what the ramifications of the current policies, such as the age of retirement, will be."

Mr. Burgess said he thought workers should be able to retire and collect a pension at 65 if they wanted to but added: "A lot of people cannot afford to do this and have to keep on working."

He said he felt older workers "have a lot to offer younger ones", and should be kept on as long as possible in the interests of training and passing on experience.

Mr. Burgess said the main impetus for companies to set mandatory ages of retirement was "the bottom line".

"On the whole it is a lot more expensive to keep on older workers than to bring in younger people. Younger people need less vacation and generally don't get paid as much. So it's not usually the welfare of the worker that is considered, but rather expenses."

He said he was looking forward to seeing the results of last year's census, to gauge exactly where Bermuda is in terms of population statistics.

But Mr. Burgess added: "We've got to use what we have. If a person at 65 feels he or she can continue working then they should be allowed to continue.

"All employers need to examine the ramifications of retirement ages. They would be better to know how the future will affect the policies they already have in place."

Mr. Cox said: "All things are adding up to a longer life span and I think this question is something we'll certainly be looking at somewhere down the line. If it were ignored it might affect us substantially."

He said he he thought the mandatory traditional retirement age of 65 might be something Government would look at reviewing in preparation for the future.

"At that age many people still have not reached their potential and still have time to give their services. Obviously we would want to make sure that every possibility of capturing that human resource was open, especially in a place like Bermuda where we have to import much of our labour."

Chamber of Commerce president Cris Valdes-Dapena said she "never saw the sense" in having a mandatory retirement age set at 65.

"People should be able to draw their pension at that age if they want, but that should be the option of the worker.'

She added: "It's a fact that there is a labour shortage and my understanding is that statistics show the Bermuda component of the workforce will shrink while our need for imported labour will increase.

"Global projections show that it is going to get worse everywhere."