Employment (Contractual Retirement Ages) Act 2025 Now in Effect

The Employment (Contractual Retirement Ages) Act 2025 came into effect on 29^th of June 2026, introducing important new obligations for Organisations where certain eligible Employees wish to continue working beyond their contractual retirement age.

The legislation provides eligible Employees with a new statutory right to notify their Employer that they do not consent to retiring at their contractual retirement age where that age is below the State pension age (currently 66).

Organisations must now consider these requests and can only enforce a contractual retirement age where the decision is objectively justified by a legitimate aim and the means of achieving that aim is appropriate and necessary.

What This Means for Organisations

The commencement of the Act means Organisations should review their current retirement arrangements to ensure they are compliant with the new legal requirements.

Key areas to consider include:

• Reviewing contractual retirement ages and existing retirement policies
• Updating policies, procedures and Employee handbooks to reflect the new statutory notification process
• Ensuring there is a fair and consistent process for managing requests to continue working
• Understanding the requirement for objective justification where a contractual retirement age is to be enforced
• Training HR teams and line managers on their responsibilities under the new legislation

With retirement decisions likely to come under greater scrutiny, Organisations should ensure they have robust procedures and appropriate documentation in place before managing retirement requests.

How Adare Trusted People Partners Can Help

Our expert HR consultants are supporting Organisations to prepare for these changes by:

• Reviewing and updating retirement policies and procedures
• Advising on compliant retirement processes and objective justification
• Delivering practical HR and management training on the new legal requirements
• Providing ongoing HR and employment law advice when managing retirement requests

If your Organisation has not yet reviewed its retirement policies or would like support implementing these new requirements, contact us today to discuss how we can help ensure your Organisation remains compliant.

Contact Us Today