The Employment (Contractual Retirement Ages) Act 2025 came into effect on Monday 29 June 2026. It introduces a significant new employment right for workers in Ireland: where a contractual retirement age is below the State Pension age of 66, employees who have completed their probation can choose to notify their employers should they wish to remain in employment. Crucially, the Act is about choice and doesn’t require anyone to remain in employment if they would prefer to retire.
For many employers, this will be the most significant employment law reform of 2026.
What this means in practice
- Employees must formally give their employer at least three months’ notice that they don’t consent to retire at the contractual retirement age. Where contracts specify a longer notice period, they must give that, or six months’ notice, whichever is shorter. Notice can’t be given more than 12 months before the intended retirement date.
- The Act doesn’t give employees an automatic right to remain in employment. However, employers who want to enforce a retirement age must respond in writing within one month and provide an objectively justified and proportionate reason for the decision, meeting the higher legal give a clear, objectively justified reason - one that meets the higher legal threshold set out in the Act.
- An updated Code of Practice on Longer Working, developed by the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC), also takes effect from 29 June 2026. It’s not legally binding, but it is admissible in legal proceedings and serves as an important reference in disputes.
Implications for the people profession
For many years retirement has been treated a predictable milestone, but this assumption is changing rapidly – both legally and economically. According to the April 2026 CSO snapshot into the lives of older people in Ireland, the estimated population aged 65 years and over in 2025 was 37% higher than in 2016. The rate of people aged 65 or older in employment is up by 31% on the same period in 2022. With one in five workers now aged 55 and over, and labour and skills shortages across many sectors, this issue will only grow. With mandatory retirement ages facing greater scrutiny, employers will experience increased exposure to age discrimination risks.
The Act provides more choice for older workers and the Code of Practice on Longer Working is framed not just as a rights issue, but as a workforce planning opportunity. It encourages employers to make better use of experience, support age diverse workforces and build approaches that recognise both organisational needs and individual choice.
This isn’t just a legal change. It signals a shift for how workforce planning needs to approach planning, retention and the value of longer working lives.
What HR teams need to do now:
- Start with the basics. Conduct a yearly age audit, not simply as an equality and inclusion exercise, but as a strategic workforce planning tool to assess your workforce profile and identify risks and missed opportunities, particularly in supporting longer working lives. CIPD–IRN 2026 private sector research shows only 20% of organisations have an age audit in place, highlighting a clear opportunity for HR to take a more proactive, data-led approach to policy and strategy development. Organisations that take an evidence-based approach to age inclusion are better positioned to build resilient workforces, strengthen talent pipelines and create workplaces where employees at every stage of their career can thrive.
- Review retirement policies and contracts. Update them to reflect the consent-based framework in the 2025 Act. Blanket policies are unlikely to stand up to scrutiny, and more work may need to be done to put flexible, relevant policies in place.
- Update succession planning assumptions. As our panel “Rethinking Retirement: The workforce we are not using” explored at the 2026 CIPD in Ireland annual Employment law conference, older workers bring institutional knowledge, experience and stability that organisations increasingly can't afford to lose.
- Build a clear internal process. Brief and train line managers on the changes and how to correctly handle requests to remain in employment. According to our 2026 CIPD–IRN private sector pay and employment research, 26.5% of respondents have strategies to deal with an aging workforce in place and only 13% have training for managers to be age friendly in place.
- Be prepared. Familiarise yourself with the updated Code of Practice and prepare for potential WRC claims if requests are refused. The penalties for getting this wrong are significant, with compensation of up to 104 weeks' pay or €40,000, whichever is greater, plus potential criminal liability for non-compliance.
- Save the date. On Wednesday 27 January 2027, the annual CIPD in Ireland Employment law conference will return. Mark this in your calendar and invest in the time to keep yourself up-to-speed and compliant.
