Change to Retirement Age Legislation
Republic of Ireland, April 2024
Current Law
For the private sector in Ireland, there is currently no legislation provided for general retirement age. Under equality legislation, an employer is currently permitted to set a retirement age, but only in circumstances where it can be objectively and reasonably justified by a legitimate aim, and the means of achieving that aim are appropriate and necessary.
Upcoming Proposed Change
The Government has approved the drafting of a bill that would allow, but not compel, employees to stay at work until the current State-pension age of 66. Under the Employment (Restriction of Certain Mandatory Retirement Ages) Bill 2024, a clause in a contract of employment/staff handbook that sets a mandatory retirement age below 66 would not be enforceable (without the consent of the employee).
Best Practice Advisory
Following this announcement, best practice advisory is to ensure that, if your organisation has a mandatory company retirement age, it is not below 66. It is recommended that wording for retirement clauses include;
1. Whether there is a Company retirement age, and what that age is,
2. Objective justifications for the Company retirement age,
3. A statement that the Company will facilitate requests on objective grounds to continue in employment past Company retirement age,
4. When and to whom the employee must make this request (i.e., what is the deadline),
5. Whether and when the employee will be requested to be certified medically fit to continue in employment.
Disclaimer and Copyright Notice
Please note, this document intended to be an overview process document, for the information and interest of the reader. This is not intended to be an advisory or an in-depth guide document, and does not contain the individual nuances of and within the overviewed material. This document does not constitute legal advice, it is intended for informational purposes only.
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