People around the world overwhelmingly oppose mandatory retirement, according to a ground-breaking survey of global attitudes to ageing published on Tuesday by HSBC, the international banking group.

The survey, described by the bank as the largest of its kind, found that 80 per cent of people on average believed employees should be able to carry on working at any age. Majorities ranged from 93 per cent in the US to 62 per cent in India.