With a few exceptions, no, you can’t have a mandatory retirement age. Forcing an employee age 40 or older to retire at a certain age would likely violate the Age Discrimination in Employment Act. You could, however, offer voluntary retirement plans or various post-retirement benefits for employees over a certain age as long as these programs are truly voluntary.

If you’re concerned about the impacts of an employee’s age on job performance or safety, we recommend addressing those issues as you would for an employee of any age. Focus your conversation on the performance or safety issues themselves and don’t bring the employee’s age into it. If you feel the issues can’t be resolved and the employee’s age is a contributing factor, you may want to consult an employment attorney before letting the employee go or nudging them toward retirement.

This content is provided by the HR Pros with Mineral HR.

Nicholle Peterson, Benefit Plan Manager comments,

“Mandatory retirement ages generally violate the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) for employees 40 and older, except in specific, legally allowed cases. Instead, employers can focus on voluntary retirement plans and addressing performance or safety concerns directly, irrespective of age, to ensure compliance and fairness.”

To learn more about our online tool, Mineral HR, contact Nicholle at (320) 214-2921.

This Q&A does not constitute legal advice and does not address state or local law.