Taking age equality seriously: the example of mandatory retirement

Mandatory retirement is highly debated at the national, European and international level. The reasons for this are twofold: first, from a socio-political angle, that is, in view of an increasing pressure on the financial stability of the pension systems due to the demographic change, there is a need to review the existing mandatory retirement provisions critically. Second, from a legal perspective the protection against age discrimination has been considerably strengthened both in human rights and European Union law, in particular in Council Directive 2000/78/EC. Against this background, this book examines the compatibility of selected provisions on mandatory retirement in Norwegian and German law with the prohibition against age discrimination as manifested in the directive. In addition, an interdisciplinary method is employed. Empirical findings and theory on the ageing process as well as the labour market are considered to test the integrity of arguments that are typically used for the justification of mandatory retirement provisions. Finally flexible solutions to replace absolute age limits are discussed.