Legitimate retirement

The European Court of Justice has ruled that a default retirement age is not per se a breach of the age discrimination law. However, it does have to have legitimate aims; and to be legitimate, aims must be objective and reasonable. Legitimate aims might be national employment policies, matters relating to the labour market and vocational training objectives.

It is worth noting that these objectives and limitations also apply to age discrimination in general, which may impact on advertisements for 'young and enthusiastic staff' unless part of legitimate succession planning.