Older Workers: Working in Your 50s & 60s
Treat your 50s and 60s as a deliberate career chapter — know your rights on age, re-skill with confidence, plan later-career finance, explore phased options, and protect purpose, health and identity — with a free later-career readiness self-audit.
Working in your 50s & 60s
Longer working lives mean your 50s and 60s are now a full career chapter, not a slow exit. The old 'retirement cliff' at 65 is optional for most Irish workers — the State pension age is changing and there's no general mandatory retirement age. What you do in this stage can be shaped on purpose: continue, re-skill, phase down, or move sideways. The question to answer deliberately is what you want this chapter to provide — income, identity, purpose, or a mix.
- Your 50s and 60s are a career chapter, not a wind-down.
- There is no general mandatory retirement age in Ireland.
- The State pension age is changing — check the current rules.
- Decide deliberately what you want from this chapter: income, identity, purpose.
- Planning earlier (40s/early 50s) buys you far more options later.
Your rights & age discrimination
Age is one of the nine grounds under the Employment Equality Acts, so discrimination in recruitment, promotion, training, conditions or dismissal because of age is prohibited. A contractual retirement age can be lawful, but only if objectively justified and proportionate. Redundancy and unfair dismissal protections apply regardless of age. If you believe you've been treated unfairly because of age, the Workplace Relations Commission is the route.
- Age is a protected ground under the Employment Equality Acts.
- Mandatory retirement is only lawful if objectively justified and proportionate.
- Redundancy and unfair-dismissal protections apply to older workers too.
- Age-related ads ('recent graduate', 'digital native') can be discriminatory.
- The WRC adjudicates age-discrimination complaints.
Re-skilling mid-career
Re-skilling after 50 is normal, not unusual. Funded routes — ETBs, Skillnet, Springboard+ (for some returners), and university micro-credentials — support it. Your most undervalued asset is transferable skill: leading, judging, coordinating, client relationships. Reframe what you've done in the language of the role you want, and don't underprice experience. Employers complain about a 'skills shortage' that often means an 'experience artefact' they're not reading right — make it easy for them.
- Re-skilling after 50 is common, fast and often funded.
- ETBs, Skillnet and micro-credentials support mid-career learning.
- Transferable skills (judgement, relationships, coordination) are undervalued.
- Reframe past experience in the language of the role you want.
- Don't underprice experience — and don't let others do it for you.
Financial planning for later career
Later-career finance is mostly about 'decumulation' — how you draw down what you've built — not just accumulation. Understand your occupational or PRSA pension, the State pension you'll be entitled to, and the tax rules around drawing retirement income. Get independent, regulated advice before locking in retirement choices; some decisions (like annuity vs ARF, or when to draw the State pension) are hard to reverse. A few hundred euros of advice can protect a lifetime of saving.
- Understand your occupational/PRSA pension and the State pension.
- Later-career finance is mostly decumulation, not accumulation.
- Some retirement decisions are hard to reverse — check before locking in.
- Use independent, regulated advice for big choices.
- A few hundred euros of advice can protect a lifetime of saving.
Phased & flexible options
A 'glide path' beats a cliff for most people. Options to explore with your employer include reducing hours, moving to a job-share, a consultancy or contract arrangement, a portfolio career mixing part-time work with NED/trustee or voluntary roles, or a sideways move to a less pressured role. Negotiate these deliberately rather than drifting into them — and check the pension and PRSI implications of each, since hours changes can affect both.
- A glide path usually beats a sudden full retirement.
- Options: fewer hours, job-share, consultancy, portfolio career, sideways move.
- Negotiate the change deliberately, don't drift into it.
- Check pension and PRSI implications of changing hours.
- NED, trustee and voluntary roles can supply purpose and structure.
Purpose, health & identity
Sudden full retirement is a known risk to health and identity. Work provides structure, relationships and a sense of being useful; losing it overnight can be harder than expected. Decide what you want work to provide now — purpose, social contact, income, learning — and protect those at least as carefully as the money. Health, friendships outside work and a 'next thing' make the transition far less destabilising.
- Sudden full retirement is a known risk to health and identity.
- Work provides structure, relationships and usefulness — protect those.
- Decide what you want from work now: purpose, contact, income, learning.
- Keep friendships and interests outside of work alive.
- Have a 'next thing' before you leave, not after.
Later-career readiness self-audit
Tick what's true for you today — saved to this device — then copy the result to use as a starting point for one thing to shape this year.
Do
- ✓ Plan your later career in your 40s/early 50s, not at 64
- ✓ Know whether your contract has a retirement age and whether it's lawful
- ✓ Reframe transferable skills in the language of the role you want
- ✓ Get independent, regulated advice before locking in pension decisions
- ✓ Consider a glide path: fewer hours, consultancy, portfolio
- ✓ Keep friendships and a 'next thing' outside work alive
Don't
- ✕ Assume 65 is a fixed end — check the current rules
- ✕ Drift into retirement instead of negotiating a glide path
- ✕ Underprice decades of experience in a CV or interview
- ✕ Lock in irreversible pension choices without regulated advice
- ✕ Agree to 'you'll retire at 65' without checking objective justification
- ✕ Retire fully overnight with no next thing in place
Frequently asked questions
Is there a mandatory retirement age in Ireland?
There is no general statutory mandatory retirement age in Ireland. A contractual retirement age can be lawful, but only if it is objectively justified and proportionate — for example, where the retirement age allows for a real balance in an organisation or supports health and safety. The Employment Equality Acts prohibit age discrimination, so an enforced retirement that isn't justified can be challenged. Check your contract and handbook for any stated retirement age, and if one exists, ask on what basis it is justified. The Workplace Relations Commission adjudicates complaints where a worker believes a retirement age is being applied unlawfully.
What is the State pension age in Ireland now?
The State pension age rules have changed in recent years and are subject to ongoing policy updates. In general, the State pension (Contributory) is paid from a set age based on your PRSI record, and you may have options to defer it for a higher weekly rate, or to continue working past that age and build more contributions. The exact age and rules in force when you reach them matter most, so check the current Department of Social Protection guidance for the position at your date of retirement rather than relying on older information.
Can I be turned down for a job because of my age?
No. Age is one of the nine protected grounds under the Employment Equality Acts 1998–2015, so refusing someone a job, promotion, training or different conditions because of their age is prohibited. Job Ads that use coded language implying a younger candidate ('recent graduate', 'digital native', 'young team') can amount to age discrimination. If you believe you were turned down because of age, keep dated notes and contact the Workplace Relations Commission. Age-related assumptions should be challenged, not absorbed.
How do I re-skill in my 50s?
Re-skilling in your 50s is common and well-supported in Ireland. Funded or subsidised routes include courses through Education and Training Boards (ETBs), Skillnet Ireland networks, the Springback+ programme where eligible for returners, and university micro-credentials. The fastest route is usually to add a focused layer to your existing skills rather than starting over — for example, project management, data, ESG, or digital tools — and then to reframe your transferable experience (leadership, judgement, relationships) in the language of the role you want. Don't underprice your experience, and don't let employers do it for you.