‘I need to keep working’: The people aiming to stay employed until at least 66

The change to the law intended to allow thousands of people to stay on in their jobs until their 66th birthday comes into effect on Monday. It has been welcomed by employee representatives, but for a growing number of people, working past 66 is already the reality. Until now, many people working in the private sector have been obliged to retire when they turn 65, despite the fact they cannot claim the State pension for a further year, leaving most to claim social welfare payments for the 12-month period. From next week, anyone in a job with a contractual obligation to retire at 65 or earlier – except in cases such as gardaí or members of the Defence Forces – will be able, but not obliged, to tell their employers they do not want to go until they are 66. If the employer still wants them to retire, they will have to justify it in each individual instance on objective grounds. The total number of over-65s in employment has more than quadrupled since 2001 to the start of 2026, rising from 32,200 to 133,000, while the number of women working after the traditional retirement age has increased more than sixfold, from 6,900 to 43,400. Some of the reasons, such as people being healthy for longer, are positive. However, with more people starting families later, a greater number of single-parent households or second relationships, and a rise in the number of people paying off mortgages until they are 70 or renting into old age, many have no choice but to keep on working . Catherine Rossiter, a lecturer at the Institute of Art, Design and Technology (IADT) in Dún Laoghaire, is a lone parent of 12-year-old twins, one of whom, Aoife, requires full-time care. “She’ll never live independently so I’m a single parent, divorced, raising them on my own for the last six years and mortgaged until I’m 70. My financial situation is that I need to keep working,” she says. Currently in her early 50s, Rossiter is fortunate in that, she says, IADT is a great employer and, like the vast majority of the State’s 400,000 public and civil servants, she has the option of working until her 70th birthday. But, she says, “I’d like to have the choice. Ideally, I’d love to clear my debt by 67 or 68 but if I feel well and healthy and I have the energy, I would like to continue to work. “I do love my job and I’ll have a huge wealth of experience at that point but no one knows what will happen as we get older. I do think about the toll the caring role is taking on me, and being able to continue it as my daughter gets older.” Her finances are a key consideration and her pension, she says, has already been impacted by the years she took off work to care for her children. “I kind of feel like you get penalised, particularly as a woman, when you get divorced. And I took time out after they were born, carer’s leave for a couple of years so that will affect my pension.” “The change in the law won’t affect me but it is a good thing. People are buying houses later, relationships are breaking down, people are having much higher levels of debt in their 50s and 60s. “People are living longer, living much healthier and there’s the social isolation then of being retired at home as well. It’s tough. I think having the option to be able to work is a great choice. I know lots of people will want to do it.” Thomas Doolin, formerly the head of tech support at a well-known firm, left his job at 65 because of its mandatory retirement policy and has since started to do some work as a freelance sports photographer. It was not financial pressure that made him look at other ways of working but a desire to stay active, he says, to be out socialising and doing something he really enjoys. “You have to keep yourself ticking over, and you have to keep yourself fit,” he says. “When I left the job I got myself back into shape walking the dog and eating the right food, but then you’re thinking about what you’re going to do next. “I still don’t feel that I’m 67 years of age and I think if you sit down moping and feeling sorry for yourself, that’s when things creep up on you.” Thomas Doolin, who became a freelance sports photographer after having to retire from his previous role in tech support Doolan had some experience as a photographer during what was a varied career, and taking pictures of events at work was something he did at his previous job. Now, he likes being his own boss, knowing he will decide when he finally gives up work. “I’ve seen people crying when they were having to retire and I’d be thinking, ‘that’s going to be me somewhere down the road’. But I’m really happy doing what I’m doing now, it’s fantastic, and I won’t have any manager coming telling me I’ll be finishing up in six months’ time.” Paudie Power, a technician at the Limerick plant of German-owned manufacturer Kostal, says he will be making his application next week to continue working after his scheduled retirement. The 64-year-old is currently due to stop working next March but says he has “no idea” what he would do, while the opportunity to continue earning his full salary would represent a significant boost to finances. “I’ve never understood this thing of a company telling you ‘you are too old to work’, but the Government saying ‘you are not old enough to get your pension’. “As things stand I would have to draw the dole for a year and I’ve never done that. I’m able to work. I want to work. I’ll be applying to the company on Tuesday to stay on and hopefully their response will be positive.” Karen Kiernan, CEO of One Family, an organisation that supports lone parents, says the legal changes brought by the Employment (Contractual Retirement Ages) Act are welcome. However, she says wider supports are needed to address the issues – housing costs, care-related career breaks – that force people, particularly lone parents, to work on later in life. “There’s a difference between wanting to work past retirement and being forced to,” she says. “The structural inequalities which impact one-parent families can massively influence a person’s choice around this. Increasing the age that people can work to doesn’t address the root causes of inequality for one-parent families or its prolonged impact.” Nichola Harkin, head of employment law services at Ibec, says many employers are increasing their retirement age to 66, “which means they won’t have to deal with requests under the legislation, while others are updating their existing retirement policies to build in this new process”. Those making changes have to consider the implications for pensions and other factors, she says. Ibec's Nichola Harkin says many employers are increasing their retirement age to 66. Photograph: Maxwells Dublin Asked whether employees turning 66 will simply take the same argument to stay on under equality law that many have previously made at 65, she says “it is hard to know. An employer will still be able to reject a request made under the new legislation if they can objectively justify it, and some will feel they can justify it when workers are older, perhaps in relation to health and safety in some instances. “Some people who go on to work until they are 66 might also find that they are happier to go at that point or they might want a single fixed-term contract and, after that, they are happy to retire.” Ethel Buckley, deputy general secretary of Siptu – which previously campaigned successfully to have staged increases to the State pension age, something that would ultimately have forced most people to stay in employment until they were 68, abandoned – says the new law is another positive step and one she believes will contribute to more people being able to work beyond 66 if they want to. Siptu's Ethel Buckley says the new law is another positive step and will contribute to more people being able to work beyond 66 if they want to. Photograph: Nick Bradshaw/The Irish Times “We won’t know the level of demand for this until September [employees request the additional year three months before their retirement date and so the first beneficiaries will be those due to retire then]. “But it’s welcome that we will have clear procedures and a set of rights that are an improvement on what was in place until now. And I think for those who want to work until 67, 68 or beyond, this will strengthen the position they are in.”