From 29 June 2026, a long-awaited change to retirement law in Ireland comes into force. The Employment (Contractual Retirement Ages) Act 2025 gives employees the right to ask to keep working past a contractual retirement age, up to the State Pension Age, currently 66. For any Irish employer still using a retirement age of 65, this is a change that needs attention now, not after the deadline.
This article sets out what is changing, what employees and employers each need to do, and where the real compliance risk sits.
What is changing from 29 June 2026?
Plenty of Irish employment contracts still set a retirement age of 65. The State Pension Age in Ireland, however, currently sits at 66. That gap is exactly what this new legislation addresses.
From 29 June 2026, an employee whose contractual retirement age falls below the State Pension Age gets a statutory right to ask their employer to let them keep working until they reach State Pension Age. It is not a right to be re-employed forever, and it does not force anyone to keep working past 65 if they would rather retire. What it does is remove the assumption that a contractual retirement age below 66 can simply be applied without question.
A bit of background on the timing: the Act was signed into law in December 2025, but it could not commence until the Workplace Relations Commission’s Code of Practice on Longer Working was updated. That revised Code was approved by Minister for Employment, Small Business and Retail, Alan Dillon, and both the Act and the updated Code take effect together on 29 June 2026.
What employees must do
An employee who wants to stay on past their contractual retirement age has to follow a specific notice process. They must:
- Notify their employer in writing that they do not consent to retiring at the contractual retirement age
- Give that notice no less than 3 months before the contractual retirement date
- Give that notice no more than 12 months before the contractual retirement date
- Limit themselves to a maximum of two such notices in any six-month period
An employee who has given notice can also withdraw it later if they change their mind, although normal notice periods still apply.
What employers must do
Once a valid notice lands on your desk, you can no longer treat the contractual retirement age as something to apply automatically. You have two options.
Option one is to agree. You let the employee continue working up to State Pension Age, or you and the employee reach a different agreed retirement age between you.
Option two is to refuse, but only by giving a reasoned written response within one month of receiving the employee’s notice. There is no third option of simply doing nothing. Silence, or a late response, is treated the same as a failure to respond at all, and that carries serious consequences (more on that below).
This applies to employers of every size, including small and medium businesses that may not have a dedicated HR function.
When can an employer refuse?
A refusal is only valid if your written response can show two things:
- that the retirement of the employee concerned at the contractual retirement age is objectively and reasonably justified by a legitimate aim, and
- that the means of achieving that aim is appropriate and necessary
This is the same standard already used in age discrimination cases, so it is not a new legal test, just a new context for applying it.
Legitimate aims will vary by business, but examples that may stand up include:
- Intergenerational fairness
- Succession planning
- Workforce planning
- Health and safety considerations
- Maintaining operational capability
The key word here is “objectively”. A general preference for a younger workforce, or a vague sense that 65 is “the right age to retire”, will not be enough on its own. You need to be able to point to evidence that the retirement age genuinely serves a real business aim, and that there was no less restrictive way of achieving it.
Risks for employers
This is where the Act has real teeth, and where every Irish employer needs to pay attention.
Criminal liability for non-response. Failing to give an employee a reasoned written reply within the one-month deadline is now a criminal offence. On summary conviction, this can result in a Class A fine, imprisonment for up to 12 months, or both. This is an unusually severe penalty for what might look, on the surface, like an administrative oversight, and it is one of the most important things for employers to build a process around.
WRC retirement age complaints. If an employee is unhappy with how their notice was handled, or disagrees with the justification given for refusal, they can bring a complaint to the WRC. Where a complaint succeeds, an Adjudicator can order the employer to take a specified course of action, which may include reinstating or re-engaging the employee, or award compensation.
Compensation exposure. Where compensation is awarded, the amount is the greater of 104 weeks’ remuneration or €40,000. For higher-paid employees in particular, that 104-week figure could comfortably exceed €40,000, so the financial exposure should not be underestimated.
Taken together, this makes retirement age handling a genuine HR compliance issue for Irish businesses, not just a contract administration matter.
Practical steps employers should take now
With the commencement date already here, employers should move quickly on the following:
- Review your contracts. Identify every employee whose contractual retirement age sits below 66.
- Update your retirement policy. Make sure it reflects the new notice process and response obligations.
- Train your managers and HR team. Whoever receives a retirement notice needs to know exactly what to do with it, and by when.
- Build a tracking process. You need a reliable way to log when a notice arrives, so the one-month deadline is never missed.
- Get your justification in order. If you intend to rely on a retirement age below State Pension Age, start documenting the business case for it now, before a notice ever lands.
- Prepare template letters. Have both an acknowledgement letter and a reasoned response letter drafted in advance, ready to be tailored to the individual case.
Final takeaway
A retirement age of 65 written into a contract is no longer something an Irish employer can rely on without question. From 29 June 2026, employers need a clear, documented process for handling employee notices, and solid, evidence-based justification ready if they want to refuse a request to work on. Given the criminal liability attached to a missed deadline, and the compensation exposure if a WRC complaint succeeds, this is a compliance area worth getting right before it becomes a live issue in your business.
Sources and further reading
- Employment (Contractual Retirement Ages) Act 2025
- WRC Code of Practice on Longer Working (S.I. 600/2017, as revised)
- SFA update, 17 June 2026
Contact HRP Group
If you need support preparing for a WRC case or wish to discuss any HR compliance or employee relations issues, please contact your HRP Group consultant or email info@hrpgroup.ie for a confidential discussion.
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