Retirement should be a well-deserved rest after years of hard work. You should be able to make this personal choice when you feel the time is right and you have financially prepared to leave the workforce.
However, some employees – even employees at higher levels in the company – face the unsettling situation where their employer pressures or outright forces them to retire. This raises an important question: can your company legally force you into retirement?
Pressure to retire one form of age discrimination that aging workers experience.
Age discrimination can impact older workers at any level of a company. This includes high-level executives who, despite their positions, are not immune to age-related bias. Age discrimination at the executive level can come in many forms, ranging from subtle to overt. These can include:
- Jokes or negative remarks about an executive’s age
- Comments about a desire for “fresh blood” in the workplace
- Being left out of important meetings
- Being passed over for promotions
Some older executives might face pressure to retire. This pressure can come in various forms, such as reduced responsibilities, fewer resources or even direct suggestions that it is time to “make room for the next generation.” Others at the company might encourage them to step down in favor of younger colleagues. They may find themselves gradually sidelined to force a decision.
Unfortunately, the pressure to retire is common. One survey indicates that around 40 percent of those surveyed did not voluntarily leave the workforce.
Is it legal?
The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) protects workers over the age of 40 from unfair treatment based on their age. The general stance under the ADEA is that forcing someone to retire due to age is illegal. Companies must ensure that any policies related to retirement do not disproportionately affect older employees. They must also ensure that any retirement decisions are truly voluntary.
There are, however, some situations where an executive might have to retire at a specific age as part of their employment agreement. For example, certain high-ranking executives with a substantial retirement package might have an enforceable mandatory retirement age if it is part of a bona fide executive retirement plan. However, these are exceptions rather than the rule.
Under most circumstances, companies cannot legally force employees to retire solely based on age, thanks to protections under the ADEA and other laws. Workers facing pressure to retire should take steps to understand their rights and protect their career from age discrimination.
