Minister for Enterprise, Simon Coveney, has gained Cabinet approval to establish laws enabling workers to remain in employment until they reach 66, the age by which they are eligible for the State pension. This will provide an opportunity for employees, usually those at the private sector forced to retire at 65, to inform their employers in writing about their decision to continue working.
The current legal restrictions have been cause for an increasing amount of age discrimination complaints at the Workplace Relations Commission, exceeding 500 in 2022. The legislation has also faced numerous legal challenges. Unions and multiple NGOs have consistently criticised the gap between retirement age in the private sector and the age of State pension eligibility.
From 2018 onwards, several sectors of the public domain have allowed their employees to continue working until they attain the age of 70. The decision made by the Cabinet on Tuesday has been lauded by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (Ictu), which has actively advocated for this resolution. Ictu general secretary, Owen Reidy, voiced his approval for the reform remarking that it tailors to the workers’ choices and work types regarding their retirement age.
Despite the new legislative move, which is anticipated to be enforced later this year, employees still hold the option to retire based on their present employment contract. The decision to prolong their working years remains a choice.
The preliminary examination of the Employment (restriction of certain mandatory retirement ages) Bill is set to be conducted by the Joint Oireachtas Committee. This new legislation will hold significant implications for the labor sector and retirement plans.