How Old Is Too Old To Work?

At 25, I am already thinking about retirement...is that bad?  But seriously though, I look at my grandparents and they have it made—they do whatever they want whenever!  They recently suggested I meet them for breakfast at 2pm, a time that I am well past my second meal and third snack of the day.  As is common, my grandfather retired at the age of 65 and then worked a few days a month until he was 70 or so. 

But times are changing and so are retirement ages.  The average retirement age in America is around 62 - this figure changes with the job market, life expectancy, and retirement trends.  The average retirement age is also affected by race, gender, job sector, and geography.

A recent article in the California Bar Journal noted how a growing and graying lawyer population is changing the law firm retirement dynamics.  With over 35% of the California lawyer population over the age of 55, firms and individuals are being forced to confront the best way to handle retirement.  Perhaps the biggest problem is the demanding work pace for older lawyers.  The article noted that at larger law firms, older lawyers are still expected to reach up to 2,000 billable hours - a figure that can affect the work or the health of the aging attorney.  The cause of this pressure?  One commentator felt that global competitiveness, mergers, and the fierce competition among law firms is to blame for the pressure on older associates to perform at the same level as their fellow attorneys 30+ years younger than them.  Essentially, lawyers are left with the choice of maintaining an almost impossible work-pace or retiring before they feel they are ready.

The biggest drama, however does not have to do with the demand on older attorneys, but rather when firms are unwavering in their imposition of a mandatory retirement age.  The New York-based law firm of Mendes and Mount is learning what happens when they force retirement on unwilling partners.  Rather than institute an age discrimination lawsuit, seven partners and twenty-four attorneys left the firm when it would not adjust the mandatory retirement age of 65.  The attorneys plan on forming their own firm specializing in aviation law and taking a large chunk of their former firms business with them.  The firm stated that they have a mandatory retirement policy in order to ensure that younger partners don’t face a “logjam” as they climb through the ranks.  This sure served to clear up any congestion! 

There are other ways that companies can force an older employee to retire.  Known as constructive discharge, it occurs when a situation gives the older employee no other option but to quit.  Courts in these cases look to factors such as: demotion or salary reduction, decrease in job responsibilities, reassignment to menial tasks, reassignment to a younger supervisor, consistent harassment humiliation calculated to get the employee to quit, early retirement offers or continued employment on less favorable terms.  When courts find this type of work climate, this can mean major lawsuits for the companies that have treated their older employees poorly.

I think retirements are highly personal and need to be handled on an individual rather than systematic basis. People are different and to force retirements when individuals want to continue to contribute seems to be a horrible way to treat an employee.  The old adage: respect your elders, comes to mind when dealing with retirement—there should be a tremendous amount of respect for retiring employees, and forced retirements and constructive discharges will hopefully be limited.

By: Violet Petran