Employees in New Jersey and elsewhere may feel nervous about retiring in their 60's, even when they had previously planned retiring by age 65 or 66 when they were younger workers. Increased costs of living and shrinking pension benefits may be part of the cause of the nervousness for their wanting to extend their retirement age, but anxiety regarding the decision as to the best age to retire can be exacerbated if they perceive they are being pushed out of the workforce by their employer, that their self-determination of when they will choose retire is being taken away from them.
First, employees in NJ should know that in NJ, it is illegal for an employer to fire someone because of their age - even if they are “senior” citizen workers in their 70's and 80's etc. (I personally don’t care for that phrase- “senior citizens” - it’s unfortunately loaded with far too many negative connotations. Hoping that mainstream culture substitutes “venerable” or that something similar will eventually replace it.) The only extremely narrowly tailored exception to prohibiting age to be a reason to require an employee to retire is in certain defined professions where public safety issues control; however states that comprise the Federal Third Circuit Court of Appeals, which covers persons in New Jersey, do not have as strict as rules as do other Federal Circuits such as the Fifth Circuit.
If you have changed your mind about the age you want to retire, but fear you will be forced out of your job because you are in your 60's, 70's or 80's, know that in New Jersey even the upper end of age grade of “senior” workers - those in their 70's and 80's have the protections of the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination, which prohibits employment age discrimination. I am an aggressive and compassionate attorney and have successfully represented both private and public employees who were claimants in their 70' s and 80's, who were terminated, but because of their age they had been dissuaded from filing claims and exercising their legal rights.
Everyone has a right to work and many sexagenarians, septuagenarians, octogenarians have no choice but to work to survive; it is not simply a life style choice. But even if it is a lifestyle choice, when you retire should be your choice - not the employers!
Know That You Are Not Alone
Second, if you have second thoughts about retiring at the age you planned, know that you are not alone! A recent Gallup poll found that while in 1995, only 12 percent of persons in the US predicted they would retire over the of age 65, by the year 2018 that percentage rose to 41% of persons living in the US who predicted they would retire over the age of 65. The same poll found in 1995, that 27% of persons living in the US believed they would be able to retire by the age of 59. However, 23 years later, the percentage of persons who believed in 2018 that they would be able to retire under the age of 59 dropped to less than half, 12 percent. Virtually all age grades across the board and all demographics seem to have radically changed their expectations of their futures and increased their own projected age that they expect to retire as they get older.
What You Can Do
If you think your employer is forcing you out or discriminating against you because of age bias, you should call me call me now. I am an aggressive and compassionate employment law attorney who is successful in bringing age discrimination lawsuits and recovering money for workers who were subjected to age discrimination. I have successfully represented sexagenarians, septuagenarians, and octogenarians who were employees of public entities and private employers, who were terminated or did not have their contract for employment renewed because of their employer's age bias and was successful in obtaining monetary compensation for them.
If you are being subjected to such unlawful workplace age discrimination, contact Hope A. Lang, Attorney at Law today for a free consultation.
New Jersey employment attorney, Hope A. Lang, Attorney at Law serves clients throughout the state, including Bergen, Middlesex, Essex, Hudson, Monmouth, Ocean, Union, Camden, Passaic, and Morris Counties with locations in Southern, Central, Western and Northern NJ to meet with clients.