The Employment (Contractual Retirement Ages) Act 2025 was signed into law in December 2025 and, following some uncertainty, is due to be commenced on 29 June 2026.
Purpose
The Act aims to bridge the gap between the typical contractual retirement age (often 65) and the pensionable age of 66, at which employees become eligible to receive the State Pension.
Under the Act, employees whose contractual retirement age is below the pensionable age may notify their employer that they do not consent to retiring and instead wish to remain in employment until they reach pensionable age.
Notification
This notification must be made in writing no earlier than one year and no later than three months before the contractual retirement date. Where a longer contractual notice period applies, the employee may either comply with that period or provide up to six months’ notice, whichever is shorter.
Employer Obligations
An employer must respond in writing within one month of receiving such notification. Failure to respond within this timeframe, without reasonable cause, constitutes an offence under the Act and may result in a fine of up to €5,000 and/or a term of imprisonment of up to 12 months.
Where an employer decides to enforce a contractual retirement age, they must demonstrate that the decision is objectively and reasonably justified by a legitimate aim, and that the means of achieving that aim are appropriate and necessary.
Protection from Penalisation and Remedies
Employees are protected from penalisation for exercising their rights under the Act. Where an employee believes their rights have been contravened, they may bring a complaint to the Workplace Relations Commission. An adjudication officer may determine whether the complaint is well founded and may require the employer to take specified actions, or award compensation of up to 104 weeks’ remuneration or €40,000, whichever is greater.
For more information on this topic, please contact either David Pearson or Niamh Shanahan of our Employment team.