HR Q&A – Can We Have a Mandatory Retirement Age?

No, you cannot have a mandatory retirement age. Just hearing the phrase can make HR folks break into a cold sweat. On the one hand, you’ve got Bill from accounting who’s been with the company since disco was in its heyday and insists on handwriting memos. On the other, there’s a fresh batch of Gen Z hires asking, “Why does Bill keep faxing us emojis?” It’s a classic workplace tango between wisdom and TikTok trends.

But here’s the thing—as tempting as it might be to enforce a retirement cutoff (“Bill, 80 is the new 70, time to go!”), the legal landscape doesn’t make it that simple. Enter the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA). This federal superhero swooped in to crash the party on age bias in hiring, firing, and yes, mandatory retirement. Unless we’re talking about a handful of exceptions (airline pilots, we’re looking at you), forcing employees to retire based on age isn’t just uncool, it’s illegal.

Legal and Ethical Considerations

Aside from the ADEA, there’s also the issue of fairness. What message does it send to your team if experience is treated as expendable? Plus, who’s going to teach the newbies how to read Bill’s spot-on ledger annotations in cursive? Mandatory retirement can create a slippery slope into discriminatory practices. Age isn’t a skill or performance metric, so why treat it like one?

Blending Experience and Innovation

Instead of axis-tilting mandatory retirement, why not foster a workspace where generations thrive together? Here are some lighthearted but practical ways to do that while staying on the right side of ADEA compliance:

• Flexible Solutions: Offer phased retirement options. Bill might not be ready to hand over the keys to the filing cabinet completely, but he’d appreciate the chance to reduce his hours and finally take that RV trip.
• Reverse Mentoring: Pair tech-savvy youngsters with seasoned vets. Brad can teach Bill how to open a Zoom meeting without accidentally turning on a cat filter, and Bill can pass down secrets for handling tricky client negotiations.
• Performance-Based Judgments: Make career progression about skills and results, not age. Innovation doesn’t mean pushing out those who’ve been around the longest.

Final Thoughts

The moral of the story? You can’t enforce mandatory retirement, but you can enforce a culture that values both experience and fresh ideas. While Bill might not trade his briefcase for a VR headset, his decades of dedication shouldn’t be overlooked. Balance is key, and a bit of humor along the way doesn’t hurt.

Now, if only HR had a handbook titled, “How to Politely Nudge Bob Out Without Messing Up the Holiday Potluck Table Arrangements”…

This blog does not constitute formal HR or legal advice and does not address state or local laws. Our HR Resource Center by Mineral offers further guidelines for this and many other topics. For a small additional fee you can also speak to a live HR Specialist. Contact your friendly APlus Payroll CSS for further information (including login details) or login here. Want to know how we can help your Payroll or Time & Labor process? Please contact us here. Consultation is friendly and free!