B.C., Saskatchewan to end mandatory retirement

Article By: Cynthia Ross Cravit

The majority of provinces and all the territories now have no mandatory retirement laws.

As Canada's eight million boomers begin to enter their 60s, many are not prepared to stop working. With more Canadians living longer – the average life expectancy for both sexes surpassed 80 years for the first time ever, according to Statistics Canada – many want or need the option to keep working.

Joining the majority of provinces and all the territories, the Saskatchewan government recently introduced legislation to end mandatory retirement. And earlier this month, BC Premier Gordon Campbell announced his intentions to end mandatory retirement at 65, saying a “silver tsunami” of retired people would soon flood the province. Campbell plans on addressing the issue at the spring sitting of the legislature.

And as of December 12, 2006, employees in Ontario can no be longer required to stop working at 65. Alberta, Manitoba, Quebec, Prince Edward Island, Nunavut and the Yukon and the Northwest Territories already have in place bans on mandatory retirement laws.

The United States banned compulsory retirement in 1986. And in the past five years, Australia and New Zealand have passed legislation prohibiting forced retirement. Prior to ending mandatory retirement laws, workplace policies could require workers aged 65 or older to retire.

CARP, a long time opponent of forced retirement, made a strong case against mandatory retirement in a hearing held by the Saskatchewan Labour Board when a worker there was forced to retire at 65.

"We have been fighting for this for a long time," says Judy Cutler, co-director of government and media relations for CARP. "When 65 was determined as the age of retirement, most people didn't even live that long. Why would we prevent people from doing something they want or love to do?"

While it's important the government keeps its promise to end mandatory retirement, CARP emphasizes that early retirement rights or existing benefit and pension plans must not be undermined. Moreover, mandatory retirement must not be replaced with mandatory employment.

“There should be choice based on ability, never on age,” says Cutler. Currently, CARP is planning a court challenge against mandatory retirement in federally regulated industries.

Aging population

Canada’s population is aging rapidly. In 1973, only seven per cent of Canadians were 65 or older. This number grew to about 13 per cent by 2005. And by 2023, it is estimated that 20 per cent of Canadians will be over 65. By 2030, 65-plus Canadians will be 25 per cent of the total population.

As the population ages, the shrinking work force has become an increasing concern. The expected shortage of younger workers to replace retiring boomers and war babies means that “not only should mandatory retirement be done away with, but incentives are required to encourage seniors to stay in or return to the labour market,” Cutler says. "We have older workers who want to work. Why not embrace their expertise?" However, embracing older workers is going to require a change in attitude on the part of employers, she adds.

"People still have trouble getting jobs because of their age," she says, adding that for some employers, an older worker is anyone over the age of 45. "We hear from people who are cutting their resumes in half to make it look like they are not old enough to have done everything they have done."

Quick facts

• According to Statistics Canada, the number of Canadians aged 65 and over is expected to double from nearly four million in 2000 to almost eight million in 2028.

• Despite the trend toward early retirement, more than 20 per cent of workers aged 45 and older plan to retire after age 65 or not at all.

Published on January 17, 2007