UK employers may be denied the right to force workers to retire at the age of 65 due to a case currently being heard at the European Court of Justice.

The case, which is to be brought before judges in Luxembourg this week with the backing of Age Concern, involves a 72-year-old woman who was forced to leave her customer services job before she felt she was ready.

According to the charity, Anna Johns is just one of thousands of people who have to leave employment every year against their wishes, with many ending up significantly financially worse off.

"Forcing talented people to retire at 65 is a terrible waste for employers and an insult to older workers," explained the charity's head of policy for England, Andrew Harrop.

"It's not just unfair, it can have a devastating impact on someone's income for the whole of their retirement."

However, the Confederation of British Industry has argued that the 2006 legislation, which guards against age discrimination at the workplace but allows businesses to set a compulsory retirement date of at least 65, is correct and the best option for the country's economic wellbeing.

It is currently estimated that around two-thirds of UK employers no longer have in place a fixed retirement age, with around 1.2 million people working beyond the normal age of 65 for men and 60 for women.