WORKING AFTER 65
Should you wish, or need, to continue working beyond the age of 65, take a different approach to job-seeking than when you were young.
THINK INCOME RATHER THAN CAREER
“Think about work — not career,” said Derek Bell of the Retirement Planning Council (RPC). “At that stage of your life, you’re working for an income — not to progress your career. A lot of people get hung up on having a permanent contract — however, typically the older you are, the more likely you are to be offered a fixed-term contract. Decide too on the minimum remuneration you need to make it worth your while to work. Don’t just focus on the salary — think of the whole package, including holiday leave, sick leave, and other benefits.”
KNOW YOUR OPTIONS
A fixed-term contract is like an extension to your current employment contract. It often lasts for a year and may be renewed thereafter. However, your employer may not offer you a fixed-term contract and so you may need to look elsewhere for work. Becoming self-employed is another option. You could, for example, become a freelance consultant or a teacher, drawing from the experience and skills built up over your career.
THINK OF YOUR LIFESTYLE
Whether choosing another job, or continuing to work for your existing employer, decide on the lifestyle you want to have when working into retirement. “Ask yourself do you want to spend time commuting, do you want to work part-time or full-time, and so on,” said Bell. “When people are deciding what to do in retirement, they often get paralysed by the amount of choice they have. Deciding what you don’t want to do can help to narrow your choice — for example, you may not want to work shifts or to upskill.”
KNOW YOUR RIGHTS
The State equality body, the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (IHREC), has put together guidelines to help ensure that older workers, who wish to continue to work, are not discriminated against in the workplace.
The guidelines focus on the compulsory retirement age often included in employment contracts — and on the provision of fixed-term contracts to employees over that compulsory retirement age. The guidelines outline when it might be legitimate for an employer to have a compulsory retirement age in an employment contract — or to refuse to offer a fixed-term contract to someone beyond that compulsory retirement age. For example, if a mandatory retirement age is clearly set out in a contract and is standard for most employees, that mandatory employment age will usually apply.
Similarly, if a high level of fitness is required for a job it may be legitimate for an employer not to offer an employee a fixed-term contract beyond the mandatory retirement age — if the employee undergoes a medical exam and that exam shows they’re not fit or competent to do their job. However, if a person is not offered a fixed-term contract because they had no family dependants and therefore their employer doesn’t feel they needed the work beyond 65, that could be deemed discrimination — if employees with family dependants are treated differently.