Forced retirement in Canada is generally not allowed simply because an employee reaches age 65 or another age.
Age is protected under human rights law, and an employer generally can’t end your employment, reduce your opportunities or pressure you to leave because it assumes you are “too old” to keep working. An employer can still terminate employment for a legitimate, non-discriminatory reason, but age itself generally can’t be the reason.
If your employer is telling you to retire, repeatedly asking when you will leave or offering paperwork that describes your departure as “voluntary,” don’t sign a retirement letter, resignation or release before understanding your rights. What is called a retirement can actually be a termination, constructive dismissal or age-discrimination issue.
On This Page:
- 1. Can Your Employer Force You to Retire?
- 2. Is There a Mandatory Retirement Age?
- 3. Age Discrimination & Constructive Dismissal
- 4. Severance After Forced Retirement
- 5. What Should You Do?
- 6. Ontario, Alberta & B.C. Rules
Can Your Employer Force You to Retire in Canada?
No. An employer can’t force you to retire simply because you reach 65, 70 or another age.
If you are capable of continuing to perform your job, reaching a traditional retirement age does not automatically end the employment relationship.
Your employer also can’t avoid the issue simply by using different language. Statements such as these can raise concerns:
- “You’ve reached retirement age.”
- “We need younger people in these roles.”
- “It’s time to make room for the next generation.”
- “You should retire rather than make us terminate you.”
- “Everyone leaves when they turn 65.”
What matters is why the employer is treating you differently or ending your job—not simply what it calls the departure.
Can your employer ask when you plan to retire?
An employer can discuss legitimate workforce planning, but repeated retirement pressure tied to your age can become evidence of discrimination.
One casual question about your long-term plans is very different from repeatedly asking when you are leaving, excluding you from opportunities because management assumes you will retire soon or telling you that your age makes retirement necessary.
If the questions are becoming pressure, keep a record of what was said, when it happened and who was involved.
Can your employer fire you after age 65?
Yes, but not because you are 65 or older.
Being an older employee does not prevent an employer from making a legitimate, non-discriminatory termination decision. For example, a position can be eliminated in a genuine restructuring that is unrelated to age.
If a non-unionized employer lawfully terminates you without cause, you can still have substantial termination and severance rights. If age was a factor in the decision, additional human rights issues can arise.
Is There a Mandatory Retirement Age in Canada?
There is no general rule requiring Canadian employees to retire at age 65.
The old idea that everyone automatically has to stop working at 65 no longer reflects the general employment-law rule in Ontario, Alberta or British Columbia, and age discrimination is also prohibited in federally regulated employment.
That means an employer generally can’t create a simple rule saying every employee must leave once they reach a particular birthday.
When can mandatory retirement be legal?
Mandatory retirement can still be lawful in limited circumstances where a specific legal exception applies.
For example, an employer may be able to justify an age requirement as a bona fide occupational requirement where the requirement is genuinely necessary for the job and meets the applicable human rights test. Specific laws can also impose age requirements in particular circumstances.
These are exceptions, not a general licence to retire older employees. An employer should not simply assume that age is a substitute for assessing whether an employee can perform the job.
Does a workplace pension create a mandatory retirement age?
Not necessarily. Eligibility for a workplace pension does not automatically mean your employer can force you to stop working.
Pension and retirement plans can have their own lawful rules, but becoming eligible to receive pension benefits is different from an employer having the legal right to terminate your employment because of age.
When Is Forced Retirement Age Discrimination?
Forced retirement can be age discrimination when your age is a factor in your employer’s decision to disadvantage you, push you out or end your employment.
Age discrimination is not limited to an employer openly saying that you are too old to work. It can also appear through assumptions about your energy, health, ability to learn, career ambitions or how soon management believes you “should” retire.
Examples can include:
- Selecting older employees for termination because management expects them to retire soon
- Excluding an older employee from training or promotions because of assumed retirement plans
- Pressuring an employee to leave after reaching 65
- Making age-related comments while discussing termination or restructuring
- Reducing responsibilities because the employer wants a younger employee to take over
- Treating pension eligibility as a reason to end the employee’s career
For the broader human-rights framework, read our guide to workplace discrimination in Canada.
What is “quiet” forced retirement?
Quiet forced retirement happens when an employer does not formally order you to retire but changes your job or workplace in an effort to make you leave.
For example, an employer might:
- Cut your pay or hours
- Demote you
- Remove important responsibilities
- Exclude you from meetings, projects or advancement opportunities
- Move your work to a younger employee without a legitimate explanation
- Repeatedly pressure you to set a retirement date
If the changes are serious enough, they can amount to constructive dismissal in addition to raising age-discrimination concerns.
What if your employer says “retire or be fired”?
A “retire or be fired” ultimatum is a major warning sign because the supposed retirement may not be voluntary at all.
Ask your employer what will happen if you refuse to retire and whether it intends to terminate your employment. Don’t submit a retirement or resignation letter merely to make the employer’s decision appear voluntary.
If you are being told to resign rather than retire, see our guide to forced resignation in Canada.
Is an early-retirement package the same as forced retirement?
No. A genuine early-retirement offer gives you a choice; forced retirement does not.
An employer can offer a buyout, enhanced severance package or retirement incentive and allow you to decide whether to accept it. The legal issue changes if refusing the offer will automatically cost you your job or the employer is using improper pressure to obtain your agreement.
If you have been offered a retirement buyout or voluntary exit package, read our guide to voluntary departure programs in Canada.
Can You Get Severance If You Are Forced to Retire?
Yes, if your employer is actually ending your employment, you can have termination and severance rights even if the employer calls the departure a retirement.
The label on the paperwork does not determine what you are owed. If the employer—not you—is deciding that your employment will end, the situation should be assessed as an employer-initiated termination.
For many non-unionized employees, full common-law severance can be substantially greater than employment-standards minimums. Factors can include:
- Your age
- Length of service
- Position and responsibilities
- Compensation
- Availability of comparable employment
- The terms of your employment contract
Common-law severance can reach as much as 24 months’ compensation in appropriate cases. Age can be an important factor because finding comparable employment may be more difficult for an older worker, but there is no automatic severance formula based on age alone.
See our Canada-wide guide to severance pay for the broader calculation rules.
Does being close to retirement reduce your severance?
Not automatically. An employer cannot simply assume that you would have retired soon and use that assumption to eliminate your termination rights.
Your actual circumstances matter. If you had not decided to retire and intended to continue working, make that clear rather than allowing the employer to characterize your departure as something you had already planned.
What if you were planning to retire soon anyway?
Planning to retire at some point is not necessarily the same as having given a definite resignation or retirement notice.
A casual discussion about eventually retiring does not automatically give an employer permission to choose your departure date. The precise words used, whether you made a clear commitment and what the employer did in response can matter.
Can forced retirement lead to compensation beyond severance?
Potentially. If age discrimination contributed to the forced retirement, human rights remedies can arise in addition to ordinary termination compensation.
The available remedies depend on the human rights law that applies and what happened. This is one reason the situation should not be assessed only as a severance calculation.
What Should You Do If Your Employer Is Pressuring You to Retire?
Do not agree to retire on the spot. Get the employer’s position in writing, preserve the evidence and understand your termination and human-rights options first.
- Don’t submit a retirement letter. If retirement is not your decision, don’t create a document saying that it is.
- Ask what happens if you refuse. Find out whether your employer intends to continue employing you or terminate you.
- Document age-related comments. Keep notes of who said what and when.
- Save relevant documents. Keep emails, retirement proposals, performance reviews, employment agreements and termination documents you are legally entitled to retain.
- Don’t sign a release immediately. A retirement or severance agreement can waive significant rights once accepted.
- Don’t resign because the workplace has become uncomfortable. Major unwanted changes can create constructive dismissal rights.
- Get advice before choosing an exit date. The difference between voluntary retirement and employer-initiated termination can have major financial consequences.
What if you already signed a retirement agreement?
Don’t assume that nothing can be done, but act quickly.
Whether you can challenge what you signed depends on the document, the circumstances surrounding the agreement and whether your retirement was genuinely voluntary.
Keep a copy of everything you signed and any messages or notes showing the pressure that led to the decision.
What if your employer suddenly starts criticizing your performance?
Performance concerns do not automatically prove age discrimination, but the timing and context can matter.
If you have a strong performance history and criticism begins only after retirement discussions or age-related comments, preserve your previous reviews, emails and objective performance records.
An employer is entitled to manage legitimate performance issues. It cannot manufacture or selectively apply concerns as a pretext for removing an employee because of age.
Forced Retirement Rules in Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia
Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia all protect employees from age discrimination, but the specific human-rights and employment-law rules differ by province.
Ontario
Ontario generally prohibits mandatory retirement based simply on reaching age 65. If your employer ends your employment or pressures you to retire, age discrimination, constructive dismissal and severance can all become relevant.
For Ontario-specific retirement and compensation issues, see Severance Pay for Older Employees & Retirement in Ontario.
Alberta
Alberta has no general mandatory retirement age that an employer can impose simply because an employee turns 65. Age is protected under provincial human rights law, subject to limited legal exceptions such as a bona fide occupational requirement.
Read Forced Retirement in Alberta for the province-specific rules and options.
British Columbia
BC human rights law protects employees aged 19 and older from discrimination in employment because of age, subject to specific statutory exceptions and bona fide occupational requirements.
Read Retirement Age and Forced Retirement in BC for the BC-specific rules.
Forced Retirement in Canada: Frequently Asked Questions
Is mandatory retirement legal in Canada?
Generally, an employer cannot impose mandatory retirement simply because an employee reaches 65 or another age. Limited exceptions can apply where an age requirement is legally permitted or can be established as a bona fide occupational requirement.
Can my employer force me to retire at 65?
Generally, no. Turning 65 does not automatically end your employment or give your employer the right to make you retire.
Can my employer fire me because I am eligible for a pension?
Pension eligibility alone does not generally give an employer the right to fire you because of your age. An employer can make a legitimate termination decision for reasons unrelated to age, but a discriminatory termination can create additional legal remedies.
Do I get severance if I am forced to retire?
You can be entitled to severance when the supposed retirement is actually an employer-initiated termination or constructive dismissal. Do not assume that calling the departure “retirement” eliminates your termination rights.
Can I refuse an early-retirement package?
Yes, if the offer is genuinely voluntary. Before declining or accepting it, understand what the package is worth, whether your job is expected to continue and what rights you could have if the employer later terminates you.
Can my employer make me set a retirement date?
Generally, you do not have to choose a retirement date simply because your employer wants one. If management is pressuring you to commit to leaving because of your age, document the request and get advice before agreeing.
Get Advice Before Agreeing to Retire
Retirement should be your decision unless a narrow lawful exception applies. If your employer has decided that your career should end because of your age, calling the departure a “retirement” does not necessarily make it voluntary.
Samfiru Tumarkin LLP helps non-unionized employees in Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia assess forced retirement, age discrimination, constructive dismissal and severance claims.
Before you choose a retirement date, sign a release or submit a letter saying you are leaving voluntarily, find out what your employer is actually proposing and what compensation you could be owed.