Goldman Sachs is to change its retirement rules, giving long-serving employees an incentive to leave before the end of the year, in a move that could add to the 3,000-plus redundancies it has already announced. Goldman, which last month said it would cull 10% of its 32,500 workforce, says that as of 2009, it will take longer for Goldman’s employees to qualify for the firm’s full retirement package. Goldman will scrap its policy of allowing employees whose combination of age and years of service exceeds 55 to collect all their restricted stock on departure. Instead, the programme – known internally as the “rule of 55” – will be replaced with a “rule of 60”. Goldman said the change will bring its retirement programme closer in line with its competitors, which tend to make staff work longer to qualify for similar treatment. Goldman’s move comes as the firm, for the first time in its nine-year history as a public company, is expected to report a quarterly loss in Q4 results due Tuesday – possibly of more than $2bn.
