A survey by Willis Towers Watson has revealed that workers in the Republic of Ireland want to work beyond their contractual retirement age of 65.

Many more workers want to continue to stay on in employment. According to a survey, 71% of 136 employers surveyed have seen requests to stay on beyond 65 years of age.

Of the 136 businesses surveyed by Willis Towers Watson, 85% had a contractual retirement age in place

Of those employers that have a retirement age, 90% set it at 65 years of age.

Willis Towers Watson said that 65 is no longer the start of a “work free era”.

“Over the last year, the Government set out in its roadmap for pensions reform that it has the clear aim of allowing employees flexibility to remain in the workforce for longer. The Workplace Relations Commission also released a code of practice for longer working.

In line with this we have seen the age at which the State pension becomes payable increase from 65 to 66, with a further increase to age 67 in 2021 and to age 68 in 2028.

In light of these developments, some employers are looking to review their generally inflexible retirement age policies in order to support those employees that wish to work beyond the traditional retirement age.”
— Brian Mulcair, head of corporate benefits consulting at Willis Towers Watson

According to the study, 65% of employers are considering the introducing more flexibility with retirement. Retirement has become a growing area of litigation for employers to deal with. As we reported last year, claims of age discrimination made up 14% of cases raised with the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission.

For more on age discrimination in Ireland, read our international pages.

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